SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Frigates: Romania

Harry Cohen: To ask the Solicitor-General what progress has been made with the investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and Ministry of Defence Police into the sale of two ex-Royal Navy frigates to Romania by BAE; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Serious Fraud Office is investigating alleged offences involving BAE Systems plc. Further comment cannot be made for cases currently under investigation.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Security

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of tonnes of liquids which have been confiscated at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick,  (c) Stansted,  (d) Manchester and  (e) Birmingham airports since 10 August 2006.

Gillian Merron: The Department does not collect any data on the amount of liquids confiscated through central search at UK airports.

Bus Services: Accidents

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving passengers on London bus services were reported in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) London borough and  (b) London bus route; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Information showing the number of reported personal injury road accidents involving bus/coaches by London borough in each of the last five years is given in the following table. 2005 is the latest year for which data are available. Many of these accidents include buses/coaches which had no passenger casualties. Additionally some of the buses/coaches may have had no passengers at all. The information requested broken down by bus route is not collected.
	
		
			  Number of reported personal injury road accidents involving buses/coaches( 1,2)  by London borough: 2001-05 
			  London borough  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 City of London 47 44 40 49 53 
			 Barking 55 41 39 30 28 
			 Barnet 105 95 104 87 78 
			 Bexley 61 64 41 53 50 
			 Brent 98 91 91 76 92 
			 Bromley 70 113 76 98 78 
			 Camden 168 128 161 146 123 
			 Croydon 110 88 99 89 117 
			 Ealing 90 98 106 107 115 
			 Enfield 71 83 82 88 57 
			 Greenwich 100 98 113 101 94 
			 Hackney 124 95 130 113 98 
			 Hammersmith 84 53 82 66 67 
			 Haringey 109 90 96 107 76 
			 Harrow 47 28 38 31 32 
			 Havering 54 63 49 77 45 
			 Hillingdon 44 52 57 73 59 
			 Hounslow 63 60 59 60 61 
			 Islington 123 98 107 123 89 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 75 62 79 62 71 
			 Kingston upon Thames 31 34 42 26 38 
			 Lambeth 174 165 170 152 149 
			 Lewisham 137 132 127 132 122 
			 Merton 55 52 47 41 45 
			 Newham 77 79 80 72 70 
			 Redbridge 63 57 55 51 42 
			 Richmond upon Thames 60 42 49 41 43 
			 Southwark 202 158 178 148 135 
			 Sutton 37 33 41 38 44 
			 Tower Hamlets 59 51 54 44 55 
			 Waltham Forest 57 54 62 65 56 
			 Wandsworth 96 93 109 110 87 
			 Westminster 400 370 434 383 291 
			 Total 3,146 2,864 3,097 2,939 2,660 
			 (1) Buses or coaches equipped to carry more than 17 passengers, regardless of use. (2) Many of these accidents include buses/coaches which had no passenger casualties. Additionally some of the buses/coaches may have had no passengers at all.

Dartford Tunnel: Tolls

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether a discount for Bexley residents has been considered as part of the consultation on the future of Dartford Crossing tolls.

Stephen Ladyman: No decisions have yet been taken. The Department will be consulting on its proposals for local discounts in due course.

Driver Information Systems

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the results of the consultation on the In-Vehicle Information Systems; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The replies to the consultation are in the process of being analysed, with consideration also being given to other relevant material such as the 26 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1769 Adjournment debate on satellite navigation. Once this work is complete, the results of the consultation will be published. No date has yet been fixed but I expect the information to be issued shortly.

Driver Information Systems

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps  (a) to regulate in-vehicle information systems and  (b) to produce a code of conduct to mitigate incorrect routeing by navigation systems; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department for Transport is reviewing the existing legislation and practice on in-vehicle information systems (MS). The review is being informed by responses to the recent MS public consultation and by other relevant information. Our chief interest is to ensure, whether by regulation, code of practice and/or other means, that the human-machine interface aspects of route guidance systems are safe and that the guidance offered by such systems is designed so as to avoid inappropriate routeing. No conclusions have yet been reached on the best way forward. Any proposal developed following the review will be subject to further public consultation as part of the statutory process.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many keepers of foreign registered vehicles re-registered their vehicle details with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: The following are volumes of used imported vehicles since 2001 We do not have figures for the last 10 years.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 94,730 
			 2005 112,908 
			 2004 130,558 
			 2003 133,999 
			 2002 107,267 
			 2001 106,105

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the crackdown on overseas registered vehicles announced in August 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: Checks by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) on drivers and vehicles on international journeys in the South East of England increased from 14,100 in 2005-06 to 34,500 in 2006-07. 47 per cent. of the vehicles checked for roadworthiness were found to have defects which could result in prohibition, 20 per cent. of the checks on drivers' hours showed offences and 26 per cent. of vehicles weighed were overloaded.
	This increased level of activity has been effective in the number of dangerous vehicles and drivers been prevented from continuing their journeys on the UK road network. It is too early to say whether there has been any deterrent effect.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the change in numbers of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads over the last 15 years.

Stephen Ladyman: We do not collect data on the number of foreign registered vehicles on UK roads.

Rescue Services: Compensation

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure a quick resolution of the dispute between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and coastguard rescue officers over injury cover;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the dispute with coastguard rescue officers over insurance cover; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has kept me fully informed of developments with the withdrawal of front-line services by some Coastguard Rescue Teams. Full-time staff within the MCA and the volunteer members of its Coastguard Rescue Service are covered for injuries sustained while on duty and consequential loss of earnings by the Civil Service Injury Benefits Scheme (CSIBS) details of which can be found at:
	http://www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.civilservice_pensions.gov.uk/rules/csibs_81206.pdf
	Discussions within the MCA have resulted in agreement on interim arrangements and a full search and rescue service has resumed. A MCA working group is being set up to consider compensation arrangements for the future.

Rescue Services: Compensation

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that volunteer coastguard rescue officers injured on duty receive prompt and adequate compensation;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of injury cover for volunteer coastguard rescue officers.

Stephen Ladyman: In the event of an injury on duty, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has in place the following procedures:
	an interim payment scheme to avoid hardship;
	entitlement to make a claim as a person performing duties on behalf of the Crown from the Civil Service Injury Benefits Scheme.
	The MCA is actively considering future arrangements and is discussing concerns with coastguard rescue officers.

Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Registered Vehicles

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of traffic penalty evasion by foreign registered vehicles in the UK.

Stephen Ladyman: We have made no quantified assessment. However we have recognised this is an important enforcement issue which we intend to address through the deposit scheme and which will require an immediate payment from those who cannot provide a satisfactory UK address.

Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Registered Vehicles

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has powers to receive up-to-date foreign vehicle keeper data from foreign vehicle licensing agencies for the purposes of assisting UK local authorities in carrying out their civil enforcement responsibilities.

Stephen Ladyman: Currently there is no European or international law providing a legal framework for data exchange specifically for these purposes. Therefore each case would need to be considered on its merits and the specific legal duties arising, including data protection and privacy issues.

Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Registered Vehicles

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether any foreign registered vehicles have been stopped and made to pay an immediate deposit for a traffic penalty since the passage of the Road Safety Act 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: No. The graduated fixed penalty and financial penalty deposit provisions for roadworthiness and traffic offences in the Road Safety Act 2006 have not yet been implemented.

Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Registered Vehicles

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government plan to take to improve enforcement of traffic penalties against the owners of foreign registered vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: We intend to introduce regulations under the provisions of the Road Safety Act 2006 that will allow police officers—and also enforcement officers from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency—to issue fixed penalties to offenders in non-GB-registered vehicles and to offenders without a satisfactory address in the UK.
	A deposit will be taken from the offender at the time the fixed penalty notice is issued. Enforcers will also be able to immobilise a vehicle in any case where there is any risk that an offender may refuse to pay a deposit. It will also be possible for enforcers to immobilise a vehicle where it appears an offender to drive away in contravention of any prohibition which has been issued, either in respect the driver, or in cases where the vehicle has been deemed unfit to continue with the journey.

West Coast Mainline: Railway Stations

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the ability of platforms on the West Coast Mainline to facilitate longer trains.

Tom Harris: Platforms at stations on the West Coast Main Line already have the capability of accommodating longer trains or proposals exist to extend them this as necessary.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Ports: Thames Estuary

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact of the operation in the Thames estuary of the proposed liquefied natural gas importation plant on Canvey Island on the operation of the proposed container terminal at Shell Haven; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	The application for planning permission for a liquefied natural gas importation facility on Canvey Island is currently the subject of an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, following refusal of the application by the Local Planning Authority in September 2006. It would be inappropriate to prejudge the outcome of the appeal process.
	The application for a Harbour Empowerment Order for a container terminal at Shell Haven is currently under consideration by the Secretary of State, further to his minded view of 8 August 2006.
	The regulation of navigation in the Thames estuary is the responsibility of the Port of London Authority as the conservancy authority and statutory harbour authority. It is for the Port of London Authority to assess any operational traffic impacts and make proper provision for the safe regulation of river traffic to and from any relevant port developments which may be implemented in the estuary.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Press Gallery

Philip Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment has been made of utilising part of the Press Gallery above the Commons Chamber for visitor access.

Nick Harvey: Only security-screened pass holders or Members' guests can sit in front of the security screen and visitors are restricted to the area behind the security screen. This is based on security advice and a result of a number of incidents of which the Member will be aware. However, Mr. Speaker is keen to welcome visitors to the House and has asked that officers look into this proposal.

Services Survey

Bob Spink: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when he expects to report the results of the recent survey of services.

Nick Harvey: The report of the Survey of Services is currently being drafted by FDS, the independent market research company contracted to undertake the survey. The report will be considered by the House of Commons Commission in May and will be made available to Members and their staff.

Parliament: Parking

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much he estimates would be raised each year by the introduction of a £10 flat fee charge to use car parking facilities on the parliamentary estate, assuming a continuation of the present level of usage.

Nick Harvey: There are no plans to introduce charges for use of car parking facilities on the parliamentary estate.

Portcullis House: Escalators

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will ensure that the opportunity afforded by the works due to be undertaken to the Portcullis House escalator is used to reintroduce motion-sensitive operation.

Nick Harvey: The new escalators will incorporate motion sensitive operation with an energy-efficient control system.

Portcullis House: Escalators

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how long the Portcullis House escalator has been in use; how much has been spent on  (a) repairs and  (b) maintenance since its introduction; and what the estimated cost is of the works planned for autumn 2007.

Nick Harvey: The escalators have been in use since Portcullis House opened in September 2000. The following has been spent on:
	 (a) Repairs: £26,421
	 (b) Maintenance: £5,112 (£852 per annum).
	The estimated cost of the escalator works for this summer is £327,000.

PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent on hospitality by his Office in the financial year 2006-07.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) and the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 11 October 2006,  Official Report, column 788W.

Departments: Pressure Groups

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his meetings with outside interest groups which took place between 1 January and 31 March.

Tony Blair: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

EU Action

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister on which occasions in the last 12 months he has met representatives of campaign bodies and think tanks advocating closer EU integration.

Tony Blair: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Charities: Regulation

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps she has taken to ensure that the work of the Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator are fully compatible in respect of charities which work across the UK.

Edward Miliband: The Government are keen to promote compatible regulation for charities that operate throughout the UK, while recognising that charity law and regulation is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is a UK and Ireland Charity Regulators' Forum, to advance a consistent regulatory approach and to share information and best practice. The first meeting of regulators in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic took place in October 2006. The Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) have developed and published a Memorandum of Understanding, and specific guidance for charities that operate in both jurisdictions. The Commission and OSCR are also working together on the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charity Accounting and jointly sponsor the Committee which is reviewing this. They also hold regular bilateral meetings as appropriate to discuss other matters of mutual interest.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on hospitality by her Department in the last 12 months.

Hilary Armstrong: Costs incurred on Official Hospitality in 2006-07, which covers the last 12 months, will be available only when the Department's resource accounts are fully audited and laid before Parliament. This is expected to be before the 2007 summer recess.
	All Cabinet Office expenditure on official hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departments: Pressure Groups

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will list the meetings between Ministers from her Department and outside interest groups which took place between 1st January and 31st March.

Hilary Armstrong: Ministers and civil servants meet a large number of people and groups in the course of their official duties. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Coroners

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on changes in the point of arrival for military fatalities from overseas and the implications for the Coroners Service; what plans she has to allocate further resources to the relevant coroner in the event that the point of arrival for military fatalities from overseas is changed  (a) temporarily and  (b) permanently; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I have had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence about military inquests but decisions about the repatriation of military fatalities are for him. The bodies of service personnel will now arrive at RAF Lyneham which is within the jurisdiction of the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner. It is expected that he will transfer the majority of inquests to the place where the funeral is to be held. I will continue to regularly review progress regarding these inquests.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by her Department.

Harriet Harman: My Department follows the principles of "Government Accounting" and the Treasury handbook on "Regularity and Propriety" in respect of hospitality.
	These sources are supplemented by DCA internal policy on regularity and propriety forming part of the departmental Finance Manual that applies to all staff. This requires that hospitality be appropriate to the circumstances and states that it is not appropriate for public money to be used for staff functions such as leaving parties.
	The only specific reference to alcohol within the policy relates to staff conferences, where it states:
	"a modest amount of table wine can be provided with the (conference) meal. However, the amount and frequency should be tightly controlled. The cost of the wine should form part of the consideration of the overall cost of the event".
	Beyond this, DCA policy requires that all substantive hospitality given or received by staff be approved in advance by a senior officer with details entered on a hospitality (and gifts) register.
	This policy covers all DCA staff, including those in agencies. It excludes Ministers and judges who have their own codes of conduct.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by hiss Department.

Hilary Benn: DFID's Staff Handbook contains detailed guidance on official entertainment including expenditure on alcohol. Financial control is largely managed through delegation to Heads of Department who are responsible for their respective budgets. Further controls are exercised through sample spot checks of expenditure undertaken by DFID's Accounts Group.

Gaza: Sewers

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the long-term effects of the sewage situation in Gaza following the flooding of Um Al Nasser on 27 March.

Hilary Benn: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs collates assessments of the sewage flooding in Gaza by members of the international community.
	Of 158 houses in the Um Al Nasser village that have been assessed, some 95 need minor repairs, three are in need of major repairs and six houses will have to be completely rehabilitated. The Palestinian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation are currently working on an assessment of the long-term health effects of the flooding.

Gaza: Sewers

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations have been made to the Israeli Government to ensure that access is granted to those involved in the task of building new Gaza sewage plants.

Hilary Benn: The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and the World Bank met with the Government of Israel on 28 March. Following this, the Israeli Government agreed to provide free access to the area, to facilitate the import of necessary equipment, and to provide technicians. The UK has made no representations to the Israeli Government on this issue.

Gaza: Sewers

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance the UK is offering towards international efforts to build new treatment plants to prevent future sewage floodings in Gaza.

Hilary Benn: The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and the World Bank have been leading a joint donor project to provide more sewerage facilities since 2004. This comprises three phases. Phase One will reduce the risk of imminent flooding into residential areas; Phase Two will create additional capacity through building a larger pumping station; and Phase Three involves building a new treatment plant.
	The PWA already has funds available for Phase One, which it aims to complete in June 2007. The World Bank, France, Sweden, Belgium and the European Commission have contributed to Phases Two and Three of this project. The European Commission has contributed around €6 million, of which the UK pays a 17 per cent. share (just over €1 million). The UK is not contributing direct financial assistance to the project. DFID has been encouraging those donors directly involved to move forward as quickly as possible, and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

HIV/AIDS and TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's budget for HIV/AIDS was spent on tuberculosis/HIV collaborative activities in each year between 2003 and 2006.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has recently introduced a new methodology for monitoring AIDS and HIV expenditure. Bilateral expenditure figures based on this methodology are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Table 1: DFID bilateral expenditure on HIV-AIDS 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 205.2 
			 2004-05 253.3 
			 2005-06 315.4 
		
	
	The level of detail available on our central systems does not allow us to systematically capture the amount of expenditure on HIV/TB collaborative activities. However, DFID is able to separately identify spending on communicable disease control, of which spending on TB-related activities is a part. Table 2 shows estimates of DFID's bilateral expenditure, excluding poverty reduction budget support (PRBS) on communicable disease control over the same period. This table only includes directly targeted support and excludes other expenditure which will have an impact on TB such as broader support to strengthen health systems.
	
		
			  Table 2: Direct DFID bilateral expenditure on communicable diseases 2003-04 to 2005-06 
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 65.2 
			 2004-05 80.7 
			 2005-06 82.2 
		
	
	DFID recognises that the efforts against HIV and TB are inextricably linked. TB incidence rates have at least doubled in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last 15 years. 50 per cent. of TB deaths are of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in Africa (7 per cent. in south East Asia). TB/HIV co-infection is now the central and most worrying feature of the epidemic. The two diseases must be considered together. The biggest challenge to integration in resource limited settings is human resources. TB diagnosis is also difficult in PLWHA, and TB and HIV drug interactions make treatment very complex. New TB diagnostic tools are needed.
	DFID is providing support to help countries strengthen their health systems. In Malawi, we are helping with a £100 million emergency programme over six years, part of which aims to double the number of nurses and triple the number of doctors, and retain them through better pay and conditions, with a salary increase of 50 per cent. We are also providing support directly to strengthen national TB programmes. For example, in China, DFID has allocated £28 million over seven years towards reducing tuberculosis morbidity and mortality through an effective and sustainable national TB control programme focused on the poor. This has involved raising case detection and treatment through directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) based services.
	In addition DFID funds a variety of multilateral organisations that contribute to programmes targeting both HIV/AIDS and TB. Most notably we have pledged £359 million to date to support the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), as our principal support for the provision of TB drugs.

Iraq: Refugees

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what funding and resources he provided for services for refugees in Iraq in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of Iraqi citizens who have left Iraq in each year since 2001;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of internally displaced people in Iraq.

Hilary Benn: UN agencies estimate that some 1.9 million Iraqis are currently internally displaced and around 2 million others have fled to neighbouring countries. Statistics broken down by year are unavailable.
	We are very concerned about the increase in displacement and rising humanitarian needs resulting from ongoing sectarian violence. DFID continues to support the UN and other humanitarian agencies to assist vulnerable people in Iraq including refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs). So far this year, we have contributed £10 million to support humanitarian agencies working in Iraq and the region, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). This takes our overall humanitarian assistance to Iraq to £125 million since 2003.

Members: Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to answer the letters of  (a) 18 December 2006 and  (b) 19 December 2006 from the hon. Member for Northavon, which were transferred to his Department from HM Treasury on 3 January, on the financing of AIDS treatment around the world.

Gareth Thomas: Our records show that these letters of 18 and 19 December 2006 from the hon. Member for Northavon were not received in DFID. DFID officials have now obtained copies of these letters and a reply has been issued.

Nepal: Overseas Aid

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has any plans to increase its funding for developmental projects in Nepal.

Gareth Thomas: Last year DFID allocated £30 million for our programme in Nepal. Following the People's Movement which ended a period of the King's autocratic rule and reinstated Parliament, we increased our programme to £37 million for the year. For the new financial year we are increasing it further, to £43 million.
	I was able to announce this increase during my recent visit to Nepal. I made it clear that £13 million of the new resources should be allocated to the Nepal Peace Trust Fund, to directly assist with implementation of the peace process. Over and above these increases to our regular budget for Nepal, the UK Government have also agreed to provide at least £23.5 in debt relief until 2015 to help Nepal meet its debt service payments to the World Bank.

Uganda: Overseas Aid

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department is providing assistance to the Ugandan Government to facilitate the maintenance and expansion of safe areas in Northern Uganda.

Hilary Benn: The peace talks in Juba that have been taking place since July 2006 have resulted in huge improvements in the security situation in northern Uganda. In some areas people are now returning to their homes. In other areas, people are more cautious and still remain in camps. The Government of Uganda and their development partners have agreed that the process of return must be voluntary.
	Through our funding to the UN Consolidated Appeal we are helping provide humanitarian assistance both to people still living in displaced camps and those returning home. In the return areas this help includes: the provision of food to bridge the period while crops are being grown; the re-habilitation of water points; support to health services and the provision of protection programmes for women and children.
	With resources from the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool, we are also purchasing vehicles and communications equipment for the Uganda Police Force in the north. This is in support of a wider programme that is seeking to reintroduce and strengthen civilian policing both in the camps and the return areas. The absence of civilian police in many part of the north has been identified by communities as a major impediment to better protection, particularly of women and children.

Written Questions

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he expects to reply to Question 111209, on his Department's budget for tuberculosis/HIV collaborative activities, tabled by the hon. Member for St. Ives on 22nd January 2007.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today (UIN 111209).

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Public Petitions

John Robertson: To ask the Leader of the House what discussions he has had on changes to the House's procedures relating to public petitions.

Paddy Tipping: My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about public petitions and believes that this House has a valuable role to play in looking at such petitions. The Procedure Committee has been examining the subject and has been taking evidence. I understand the Committee is due to report in the near future.

Members' Allowances

Greg Hands: To ask the Leader of the House what rules are in place to govern hon. Members' new communications allowances.

Paddy Tipping: Under the terms of the resolution of the House of 28 March, the Communications Allowance is subject to detailed rules and guidance determined by the Members Estimate Committee. A detailed booklet on the "Communications Allowance and the Use of House Stationery", issued by the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of the Serjeant-at-Arms, was placed on the parliamentary intranet on 30 March. Hard copies of the booklet were posted to each Member last week. Relevant claim forms for the Communications Allowance were also posted on the intranet on 30 March and have been included with the booklet being distributed to Members.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Office.

Jack Straw: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons operates under a strict hospitality policy which limits the amount of money that can be spent on alcohol for official purposes.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office spent on hospitality in financial year 2006-07.

Jack Straw: In 2006-07, the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons spent £5,823.23 on hospitality.

Departments: Pressure Groups

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House if he will list the meetings between Ministers from his Office and outside interest groups which took place between 1st January and 31st March.

Jack Straw: Ministers from the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons met with representatives of outside interest groups nine times during the period specified. I have set out details of those meetings in the following table. This includes, where appropriate, certain speaking engagements.
	
		
			  Date of Meeting  Outside Interest Group or Body M et 
			 Thursday 15th February 2007 Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK 
			 Thursday 15th February 2007 Hindu Council UK 
			 Tuesday 20th February 2007 Hansard Society 
			 Wednesday 21st February 2007 New Local Government Network 
			 Thursday 22nd February 2007 Public and Commercial Services Union 
			 Thursday 8th March 2007 Trade Union General Secretaries 
			 Thursday 15th March 2007 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 
			 Thursday 22nd March 2007 Muslim Council of Britain 
			 Friday 23rd March 2007 Electronic Data System Ltd.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Archaeology

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with English Heritage on the creation of regional depositories of archaeological archives and material from excavations.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any discussions with English Heritage on the creation of regional repositories of archaeological archives and material from excavations, although officials have had some discussion. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is the Government's lead advisory body on archives policy.

BBC: Public Appointments

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether Sir Michael Lyons' application for the post of chairman of the BBC Trust was received by the closing date of 31 January.

Tessa Jowell: I can confirm that Sir Michael Lyons's application for the post of chairman of the BBC Trust was received by the closing date of 31 January.

Departments: Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on hospitality by her Department in the financial year 2006-07.

David Lammy: The Department's accounts for 2006-07 have not yet been finalised or audited. However, our records show that the Department spent £64,990 on hospitality in 2006-07 as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Official functions 6,188 
			 Hospitality—general 57,101 
			 Hospitality—committees 961 
			 Hospitality—speakers 739

Horserace Totalisator Board

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department is making with the sale of the Tote; and what the timetable is for the sale.

David Lammy: holding answer 19 April 2007
	The Government have received and are currently considering an offer for the Tote from a consortium of racing interests and from the staff and management of the Tote itself.

Museums and Galleries: Government Assistance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much museums received in Government funding in  (a) the United Kingdom,  (b) each region and  (c) each London borough in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The Department funds 22 sponsored museums and galleries in England:
	
		
			  Gran t  in  aid for DCMS sponsored museums 
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 268.35 
			 2003-04 279.90 
			 2004-05 284.85 
			 2005-06 296.87 
			 2006-07 320.14 
		
	
	The Department, through the renaissance in the regions programme, allocates funding to museums and galleries in each English region:
	
		
			  Grant  in  aid  allocations 
			  £ million 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 East Midlands 0.33 0.61 1.00 1.24 1.89 
			 East of England 1.04 0.81 1.76 1.57 1.98 
			 London 1.32 0.89 2.11 1.80 2.51 
			 North West 0.97 0.89 1.71 1.86 2.54 
			 South East 1.32 1.16 2.13 2.08 2.88 
			 Yorkshire 0.98 0.84 1.33 1.58 2.02 
			 North East 1.00 1.37 2.97 3.65 4.02 
			 South West 0.88 2.04 3.91 5.54 5.81 
			 West Midlands 0.94 1.97 4.21 5.77 6.10 
			  Notes: 1. Renaissance in the regions funding that cannot be directly attributed to a region is excluded from the table. 2. Certain funding allocations included in the table relate to two-year, or three-year periods. 
		
	
	Information on funding of museums within each London borough is not held centrally.

National Lottery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what proportion of Lottery money was spent in the areas of  (a) health and  (b) education in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of Lottery money she expects to be spent in the areas of  (a) health and  (b) education in each of the next two years.

Richard Caborn: The health, education, environment and charitable purposes good cause is a broad one. Big lottery fund programmes and grants often cover two or more of these areas and we do not plan or report on the amount spent on each one separately.
	The amounts raised by the national lottery for distribution by the big lottery fund and its predecessors in each of the last five completed financial years, and the amounts that may be raised in each of the next two years according to Department's current projections, are given in the following table. The figures include both income generated by the Lottery operator, Camelot, and income from investment of the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) balance. Subject to the approval of Parliament, funds will be transferred from the NLDF to the Olympic lottery distribution fund after January 2009 and this will reduce the amount available for distribution for this cause.
	
		
			  £ million( 1) 
			   Community fund  New opportunities fund  Big lottery fund  Totals 
			 2002-03 250 418 — 668 
			 2003-04 224 458 — 682 
			 2004-05 234 483 — 717 
			 2005-06 238 476 — 714 
			 2006-07 139 283 209 631 
			 2007-08(2) — — 665 665 
			 2008-09(2) — — 660 660 
			 (1) Rounded to nearest £1 million  (2) Projected

Olympic Games: Greater London

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has held to consider links between Liverpool Capital of Culture and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

David Lammy: Officials from this Department are engaged in ongoing discussions with both the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the Liverpool Culture Company to consider links between Liverpool Capital of Culture and the 2012 Games.

Parks Fund

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made by the National Lottery Heritage Fund team in assessing the Parks Fund application submitted by the hon. Member for Castle Point; and when she expects a decision will be made.

David Lammy: The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has received no formal application from the hon. Member for Castle Point. A pre-application form was submitted on 7 June 2006 after an initial meeting with the HLFs' regional manager for the east of England.
	On 14 June 2006, HLF wrote advising that it would discuss possibilities for park development with the potential applicants.
	Two subsequent meetings took place: on 5 October 2006 with the hon. Member for Castle Point, the chief executive of Castle Point borough council, HLF's regional committee chair and the regional manager, and on 4 December 2006 between HLF's development team and council officials, where the possible application was discussed.
	To date no application has been received by HLF.

WALES

Departments: Pressure Groups

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the meetings between Ministers from his Department and outside interest groups which took place between 1 January and 31 March 2007.

Peter Hain: Ministers at the Wales Office met with the following non-governmental organisations between 1 January and 31 March:
	Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research
	Post Office Counters Ltd. Wales
	National Federation of Postmasters
	National Grid
	National Audit Office
	General Dynamics
	Severn Tidal Power Group
	First Great Western
	Milford Haven Port Authority
	Narberth Museum
	The Motor Sports Association
	Institute of Chartered Accountants
	Visteon Corporation
	Local Government Network
	University of Wales Swansea
	Dragon Feeds
	National Botanical Gardens of Wales
	National Autistic Society
	Swansea Waterfront Museum
	Friends of the Earth

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 201W, on Armed Forces: deployment, if he will place a copy of the review documents in the Library.

Adam Ingram: In my answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 201W, I explained that the examination of administrative procedures for the collection and dissemination of data, and the improvements made to this, did not take the form of a formal review. As such there are no review documents available to be placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Life Insurance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what subsidy his Department provides to assist paying the premium for life insurance for the most dangerous specialist roles in the armed forces.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 16 April 2007
	The Ministry of Defence's Service Risks Insurance Premiums Refunds (SRIPs) scheme contributes towards the extra life insurance premiums incurred by personnel in certain high risk trades, such as aircrew, and those serving on operations both overseas and within the UK. The compensation available is 90 per cent. of the extra premium up to a total sum assured. The latter is increased every year in line with Service pay and is currently £157,000.

Chemical Weapons: Research

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department retains stocks of chemical weapon agents for prophylactic research purposes.

Adam Ingram: Small stocks of toxic chemical agents are held for research, medical and protective purposes not prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Their storage is declared and subject to regular inspection.

Defence Equipment

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) average and  (b) total cost to his Department was of each type of (i) personal clothing, (ii) personal role radio, (iii) personal armour and (iv) personal load carrying equipment used by the armed forces as standard issue equipment in each year since 1995; from which company each type of each piece of equipment was purchased in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Since 1995, there have been significant improvements in each of these areas. We have introduced nearly 40 items of new and improved personal clothing, and we have developed a range of new body armour for troops on operations, which has transformed the level of protection available to our personnel.
	The specific information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I am however able to provide the following details:
	The approximate cost of a set of temperate combat clothing is £760 and the approximate cost of a set of desert operations combat clothing is £2,200. The majority of the items within this clothing range are supplied under a prime contract with Cooneen Watts and Stone Ltd.
	The approximate cost of body (personal) armour is £1,000 for a set of Osprey, £750 for Kestrel and £250 for Enhanced Combat Body Armour. The majority of the body armour components are supplied by NP Aerospace Ltd., Aegis Engineering Ltd., Seyntex NV and CQC Ltd.
	The approximate cost of a set of personal load carriage equipment is £150, some of which is also supplied by Seyntex NV.
	The Personal Role Radios (PRRs) are supplied by Selex Communications. They have provided 57,000 PRRs to the UK armed forces since they came into service in 2001. PRRs cost £363 for a single switch version, and £393 for a double switch version, and since 2001 a total of £22.4 million has been spent on them.

Departmental Expenditure

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on buying, operating and supporting  (a) all commercial software products and  (b) software products produced by Microsoft in each of the last three years.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq: Hospitals

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to assist hospitals in Iraq to secure access to adequate equipment and medications.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	DFID has given most of its assistance to the Iraqi health sector through financial contributions to international organisations that have particular expertise in health. For example, we have provided £70 million to the UN and World Bank trust funds for Iraq. At present, the trust funds are spending over $120 million to repair hospitals and train staff. There has been progress since 2003, with more than 1,000 health care facilities rehabilitated or equipped, and more than 6,000 health care workers trained.
	We have recently contributed £7 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support protection and emergency assistance activities in Iraq. This includes provision of urgently needed medical supplies, such as war wounded kits to hospitals dealing with mass casualties, improving health facilities, including physical rehabilitation and training for staff, restoring and upgrading water and sanitation infrastructure and organising training for health professions and engineers.
	Much of our work aims to support the Iraqi Government spend its considerable oil wealth more effectively for the benefit of the Iraqi people. We are building the capacity of central Government institutions to help ensure that finances are well managed and get to provincial authorities who can then buy drugs, fund hospitals and deliver services.

Iraq: Peace-Keeping Operations

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a date has been set for replacing all soft-top Land Rovers with Mastiff vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what plans he has to replace Snatch Land Rovers; what requirements he has specified for any replacement; and what the timescale is for the replacement process;
	(2)  what plans he has to replace Snatch Land Rovers; what requirements he has specified for a replacement vehicle; and what the timescale is for the replacement process.

Des Browne: I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave on 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 29W, to the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) and to my written ministerial statement on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 74-76WS.

Parachute Regiment: Training

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on provision for Parachute Regiment training jumps to take place in the period up to 2012; and what the basis of the policy is.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1555W, to the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr. Hollobone). Policy on Parachute Regiment training jumps will continue to be based on current practice. Existing parachute training procedures will continue, and will meet our ongoing requirements from within available resources.
	In terms of parachute training facilities and future resources I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1944W, to the hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin).

NORTHERN IRELAND

A12: Belfast

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles were damaged by missiles thrown at vehicles on the A12 Belfast Westlink in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007.

Paul Goggins: The PSNI has provided the following information relating to vehicles which were damaged by missiles on the A12 Belfast Westlink.
	
		
			   2006  2007( 1) 
			 Criminal damage (vehicle) 101 44 
			 Attacks on buses 5 3 
			 Attacks on emergency services vehicles 4 3 
			 Vehicles damaged by youths causing annoyance(2) 74 16 
			 Vehicles damaged in disturbances (minor)(3) 10 0 
			 (1) 1 January 2007 to 31 March 2007.  (2 )This relates to a situation where an initial report of youths having damaged vehicles was made but which was not confirmed, i.e. the person reporting does not stop at the scene and does not make any further contact with police to confirm that damage has been caused. Where confirmation is available, the incident is listed as criminal damage.  (3 )The above is similar to reports of vehicles damaged by youths causing annoyance, however it is felt that the incidents involved adult participation.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were treated for alcohol-only misuse in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: This information is not available in the form requested.
	However, information relating to alcohol-only misuse is available from the first ever Census of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services conducted in March 2005 by The Department of Health, Social Services, and Public Safety (DHSSPS). It should be noted that a census represents a 'snap-shot' of a particular point in time and so cannot be used to derive numbers in treatment over the course of a year.
	On 1 March 2005 there were 3,074 individuals receiving treatment in Northern Ireland for alcohol-only misuse in both statutory and non-statutory services.

Cancer

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the survival rate for each type of cancer was in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years; and what steps he is taking to improve the cancer survival rate.

Paul Goggins: On 9 November 2006 my Department published a cancer control programme for Northern Ireland. This plan sets out recommendations and actions for the further strengthening of cancer services and the setting of standards for the delivery of those services. I am confident that this programme of work has the potential to secure further improvements in cancer survival rates in Northern Ireland. In addition, the Northern Ireland Cancer Network has established a number of regional groups which review existing standards and guidelines for the treatment of specific cancers. These groups are currently developing regionally agreed standards of care and these too will contribute strongly to the improvement in cancer survival we all wish to see.
	The latest five-year relative survival rates for major cancers are those for patients diagnosed in 1996-99. These are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Cancer site  Sex  Five-year relative survival  95 per cent. confidence interval 
			 Oesophagus Male 12.7 (8.9, 17.2) 
			  Female 13.0 (8.4, 18.6) 
			 
			 Stomach Male 16.6 (13.3, 20.2) 
			  Female 16.5 (12.6, 20.9) 
			 
			 Colon Male 55.8 (51.9, 59.5) 
			  Female 54.0 (50.5, 57.4) 
			 
			 Rectum Male 52.2 (47.1, 57.1) 
			  Female 51.1 (45.3, 56.5) 
			 
			 Lung Male 9.5 (8.0, 11.0) 
			  Female 10.2 (8.4, 12.2) 
			 
			 Melanoma Male 89.5 (82.4, 93.8) 
			  Female 96.3 (91.7, 98.3) 
			 
			 Breast Female 81.5 (79.8, 83.1) 
			 
			 Cervix Female 71.9 (65.9, 77.0) 
			 
			 Uterus Female 75.1 (69.5, 79.9) 
			 
			 Ovary Female 45.1 (40.8, 49.3) 
			 
			 Prostate Male 62.9 (59.4, 66.3) 
			 
			 Kidney Male 54.7 (47.6, 61.1) 
			  Female 49.5 (42.3, 56.3) 
			 
			 Bladder Male 68.3 (62.3, 73.6) 
			  Female 51.9 (44.2, 59.0) 
			 
			 Brain Male 12.6 (8.4, 17.8) 
			  Female 18.9 (12.9, 25.9) 
			 
			 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Male 49.9 (44.3, 55.1) 
			  Female 50.9 (45.3, 56.2) 
			 Leukaemia Male 28.3 (22.2, 34.8) 
			  Female 31.4 (24.4, 38.6) 
			  Notes: 1. The 95 per cent. confidence interval is the range of values within which there is a 95 per cent. probability of finding the true value for the survival rate. 2. Relative survival is the ratio of the observed survival divided by the survival that the patients would have experienced if they had the same probability of dying as the general population having the same age. 3. Figures supplied by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry.

Children: Day Care

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many child care places there were in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency in each of the last six years.

Paul Goggins: Information on child care places is not collected according to parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland. The information is, however, available according to the old health and social services trust areas, and is shown in the following table in respect of the number of registered places at 31 March, 2001 to 2006.
	
		
			   Child care places available at 31 March( 1) 
			  Health and social services trust  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 North and West Belfast 4,022 5,376 6,471 5,189 3,761 3,414 
			 South and East Belfast 8,551 7,275 7,243 7,105 1,831 1,499 
			 Ulster 5,046 4,871 4,926 4,648 3,291 3,324 
			 Down Lisburn 5,535 5,680 5,465 5,129 5,281 5,179 
			 Causeway 2,808 2,892 2,831 3,360 6,736 5,605 
			 Homefirst 8,787 8,689 9,362 9,425 10,086 10,170 
			 Armagh and Dungannon 3,110 2,948 2,311 2,540 4,023 3,563 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge 2,812 2,850 3,097 3,496 4,506 4,435 
			 Newry and Mourne 1,321 1,418 1,504 1,638 2,701 2,518 
			 Foyle 3,366 3,470 3,467 3,469 3,470 3,425 
			 Sperrin Lakeland 2,875 3,086 3,109 3,457 3,457 3,426 
			 Northern Ireland total 48,233 48,555 49,786 49,456 49,143 46,558 
			 (1) The information detailed in this table relates to registered child care places in respect of day nurseries, child minders, play groups, out of school clubs and holiday schemes.

Departments: Billing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much discount was lost by each department in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years as a result of failure to pay invoices within the stipulated time period.

David Hanson: Four Northern Ireland Government Departments (Environment, Enterprise Trade and Investment, Regional Development and Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister) and the Northern Ireland Office have not lost any discount due to late payments in each of the last three years. The remainder do not hold this information and it could be ascertained only at disproportionate costs.

Domestic Rates

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) informal and  (b) formal capital value reviews have been carried out in each Valuation and Lands district since the introduction of the new domestic rating arrangements in Northern Ireland; and how many of those reviews in each district resulted in the capital value being (i) reduced and (ii) increased.

David Hanson: The information requested is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of informal and formal reviews completed up to  15 April 2007 
			  VLA district  Reviewed  Increased  Decreased  No change 
			  Informal review cases completed (pre 31 March 2007) 
			 Ballymena 1,513 317 669 527 
			 Bangor 840 127 493 220 
			 Belfast 3,548 382 1,777 1,389 
			 Craigavon 1,789 237 911 641 
			 Lisburn 2,868 461 1,515 892 
			 Londonderry 2,668 667 1,076 925 
			 Omagh 1,693 252 728 713 
			 Total 14,919 2,443 7,169 5,307 
			  
			  Formal review cases completed (post 1 April 2007) 
			 Ballymena 7 0 7 0 
			 Bangor 0 0 0 0 
			 Belfast 4 0 4 0 
			 Craigavon 0 0 0 0 
			 Lisburn 3 0 2 1 
			 Londonderry 0 0 0 0 
			 Omagh 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 14 0 13 1

Gun Sports

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the  (a) name and  (b) contact details are of each registered (i) shooting club and (ii) black powder shooting club in the North Down/Ards area.

Paul Goggins: There are eight registered shooting clubs with addresses in the North Down and Ards areas, three of which have black powder authorization. I will write to the hon. Lady directly to provide her with the details of these clubs.

Hospitals: Hygiene

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of hand gels by  (a) members of hospital staff and  (b) visitors to hospitals in Northern Ireland for the purpose of infection control.

Paul Goggins: The Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety has itself made no assessment of the effectiveness, in infection control terms, of the use of hand gels by hospital staff or visitors. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has established an evidence base for the value of the use of hand sanitizers and their role in infection control. WHO recommends the use of "an alcohol-based hand rub for routine hand antisepsis".
	Hospital trusts are obliged under the Department's Controls Assurance Standards to ensure there is a managed environment, which minimises the risk of infection to patients, staff and visitors and that there is a hand hygiene policy in place which reflects good practice principles. They are free to choose from a range of infection control measures to bring this about. The Department's action plan for the prevention and control of health care-associated infections published in March 2006 recommended trusts run a high profile hand hygiene/clean care campaign aimed at health care staff, patients, the public, and visitors. £400,000 of funding was provided for that purpose in the financial year 2006-07.

Hostels

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people resident in Housing Executive hostels between April 2006 and the end of March 2007 were in employment, including those who left such accommodation during that period; how much revenue was generated in rent and charges from those residents; and how many of those residents left employment and received full housing benefit.

David Hanson: The information requested is not readily available. Employment status has no bearing on the assessment of homelessness or the type of assistance provided.
	During the period, the Housing Executive placed 1,202 households in all available temporary accommodation. Of those, 462 were placed in Housing Executive accommodation.
	Of the 1,202 households, 1,051 (87 per cent.) received full housing benefit and 151 (13 per cent.) received partial housing benefit. A total of 159 received earned income (of which 97 received full housing benefit).
	During the period, a total of £2.2 million was generated in rental and service charges for Housing Executive homeless hostels.

Mentally Ill: Young People

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female persons under 18 years of age who are being detained in Northern Ireland for the purposes of mental health treatment are detained with adults.

Paul Goggins: The percentage of patients being detained for the purposes of mental health treatment in an adult mental health ward, who are under 18 years of age as at 31 March 2007 is  (a) 1.5 per cent. for males (four patients) and  (b) 0 per cent. for female persons.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures are as at 31 March 2007.
	2. Figures only include those who had not reached their 18th birthday by 31 March 2007.
	 Source:
	HSS Trusts

Midwives: Downpatrick

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards the provision of a community midwifery unit in Downpatrick.

Paul Goggins: In March 2005 the Eastern Health and Social Services Board identified Down Lisburn Trust as the preferred provider to prepare an Outline Business Case for a Community Midwifery Unit which would be located in Downpatrick.
	The Business Case was first submitted in November 2005 and the Department has engaged with both the Board and the former Trust to develop and refine the proposal. Discussions are now continuing with the new South Eastern Trust on a small number of outstanding issues. Once these issues are resolved the Department will be in a position to consider approval of the Business Case.

Northern Ireland Housing Executive: Rents

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Northern Ireland Housing Executive unpaid rent was recovered in each district in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The following table details unpaid rent recovered in each district during 2006-07.
	
		
			  NIHE District Office  Rent/rates recovered during 2006-07 (£) 
			 Belfast 1 29,759 
			 Belfast 2 25,884 
			 Belfast 3 16,609 
			 Belfast 5 64,182 
			   
			 Bangor 35,993 
			 Newtownards 37,911 
			 Castlereagh 25,961 
			 Lisburn 62,830 
			 Lisburn 3 11,710 
			 Downpatrick 44,108 
			   
			 Banbridge 45,896 
			 Newry 2,927 
			 Armagh 12,466 
			 Lurgan/Brownlow 15,642 
			 Portadown 30,006 
			 Dungannon 32,804 
			 Fermanagh 21,577 
			   
			 Ballymena 18,739 
			 Antrim 16,201 
			 Newtownabbey 1 18,392 
			 Newtownabbey 2 17,301 
			 Carrick 11,565 
			 Larne 15,003 
			 Ballymoney 15,830 
			   
			 Waterloo Place 16,057 
			 Waterside 20,024 
			 Collon Terrace 41,291 
			 Limavady 7,484 
			 Magherafelt 14,056 
			 Strabane 53,168 
			 Omagh 2,599 
			 Cookstown 29,741

Obesity: Children

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children in each health board area in Northern Ireland were registered as obese in each of the last six years; and what steps he is taking to reduce such figures.

Paul Goggins: The following table illustrates the prevalence of obesity among Primary One (PI) pupils for the periods covering 1997-98 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  Percentage of  P1  children who are obese 
			  Northern Ireland—male and female  1997-98  1999-2000  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Northern Board 4.0 4.6 5.7 5.0 5.0 5.0 
			 Southern Board 4.1 5.6 6.1 6.6 5.9 6.0 
			 Eastern Board 3.2 4.0 4.8 5.7 5.1 5.0 
			 Western Board 4.0 5.6 6.1 5.6 6.1 5.5 
			 NI 3.8 4.8 5.6 5.7 5.5 5.2 
			  Notes: 1. This information is extracted from the Child Health System which is maintained by the four NI health boards. 2. Obesity is defined using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) Classification of childhood obesity. 3. The data is not based on a sample survey but is based on the total number of P1 pupils fulfilling the valid age criteria who had their height and weight recorded. 
		
	
	Until the recent publication of the NI Health and Social Wellbeing Survey 2005-06 (NIHSWB) the Child Health System data had been the only source of childhood obesity information within NI. Validated figures, which are shown in the following table, are now available from the NIHSWB survey 2005-06 concerning estimates for overweight and obese children in Northern Ireland by health board.
	
		
			  Percentage of NI children who are obese (aged two to 10)—NIHSWB 2005-06 
			   Percentage 
			 Northern Board 5 
			 Southern Board 15 
			 Eastern Board 9 
			 Western Board 13 
			 NI 10 
			  Note: Based on International Obesity Task Force approach (IOTF) 
		
	
	The results from the survey vary markedly from the P1 study partly because the data is based on low 'base' numbers of participants within each health board . It should be also noted that the differences between the boards are not statistically significant and that because these figures have been obtained from a sample survey, that they are estimates and are subject to some degree of sampling error.
	At a regional level the report of the Fit Futures taskforce on tackling obesity in children and young people was published in March 2006. The report included over 70 recommendations designed to deliver the Public Service Agreement target to stop the increase in levels of obesity in children by 2010. Responsibility for this target is shared by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Department of Education and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
	A Governmental response to the report including a cross-departmental implementation plan has been developed and issued for consultation. Following this a final plan will be issued shortly.
	Locally the four Health and Social Services Boards have been asked to develop local integrated plans to tackle the issue of childhood obesity. These plans should address specific priorities set out in the original Fit Futures report, including enhanced training for front line staff, additional support for children in care, training to improve cooking skills in low income families, and initiatives to tackle specific health and social inequities.

Pension Credit

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pensioners in Northern Ireland  (a) are eligible for pension tax credit and  (b) are in receipt of pension tax credit; what steps are being taken to increase the take-up rate of pension tax credit in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: It is not possible to provide estimates of pensioners in Northern Ireland who are eligible for pension credit.
	The number of older people in receipt of pension credit in Northern Ireland is 116,500.
	 Benefit uptake
	The Social Security Agency (SSA) promotes the range of benefits for pensioners through pension tele-centres in Belfast and Londonderry, the internet, and information which is available in our Jobs and Benefit Offices/Social Security offices. The agency also has a network of outreach officers who provide a home visiting service.
	Benefit uptake is a key priority for the Social Security Agency which places an emphasis on vulnerable customers, particularly pensioners. Since 2005 the agency has undertaken a range of activities to increase benefit uptake including improvements to linkages between state pension and pension credit and a one-off housing benefit exercise to support those in receipt of pension credit to take-up their potential entitlement to this additional benefit (23,743 customers).
	Interim results from this year's benefit uptake programme indicates that an additional £2.3 million in benefit has been paid to pensioners; of this, £0.75 million was specific to pension credit.
	Approximately 20,000 pensioners have also been offered a free comprehensive assessment by the independent advice sector to ensure that they are receiving their full entitlement to all benefits.
	The agency is currently developing its 2007-08 benefit uptake programme with the intention of targeting vulnerable customers, including pensioners, to ensure they are receiving their full entitlement to benefits.

Raymond McCord Jr

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress made in responding to the Police Ombudsman's report into the murder of Raymond McCord Junior.

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable and the Historical Enquiries Team are making good progress in relation to implementing the recommendations of the Police Ombudsman's report into the murder of Raymond McCord Junior. The Northern Ireland Policing Board, which has responsibility for reviewing the PSNI response to the recommendations, has also been informed of this early progress.

Travelling People

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) authorised and  (b) unauthorised Traveller accommodation sites there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) Authorised T raveller accommodation sites:
	The information is not available in the format requested. The Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 transferred the responsibility for the provision and management of Traveller sites from councils to the Housing Executive from 1 December 2003. The Housing Executive currently has ownership of a total of six serviced sites, a further two transit sites and two emergency sites in Northern Ireland. In addition arrangements for Housing Executive to provide services to Travellers on co-operated sites have also been agreed.
	 (b) Unauthorised T raveller accommodation sites:
	The information is not available for the period requested. The Unauthorised Encampments Order 2005 was enacted 19 July 2006. Since then there have been 31 reports of unauthorised encampments in Northern Ireland.

Travelling People

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent estimate he has made of the size of the Traveller population in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The Travellers Needs Assessment survey completed in August 2002 identified 452 Traveller households. Of these 316 households responded to the survey, identifying a total of 1,228 individuals.
	In the NI census 2001, 1,650 individuals identified themselves as Travellers—representing 0.1 per cent. of the total population. A further needs assessment is programmed to be carried out in October/November 2007.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Legislation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures he has put in place to inform the public of the changes involved in animal welfare legislation.

Ben Bradshaw: The Animal Welfare Act was launched on 4 April at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal's (RSPCA) Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital, where the BBC series 'Animal Hospital' is filmed.
	Further media interviews were given by Ministers and regional radio interviews were undertaken by veterinarian Dr. Scott Miller on behalf of DEFRA on the morning of the launch.
	The Department's publicity campaign included posters and leaflets. Posters were sent to pet shops and veterinary surgeries. Advertisements were also placed in a number of magazines in the run-up to the launch. All activity signposted the public to the DEFRA website which contains comprehensive information on the Act. Our external campaign partners, which include Nestle Purina and Masterfoods, provided links to the DEFRA website on their consumer websites. In addition, there were a series of training events on the Act, held around the country. These were attended by officials from local authorities, Animal Health and the RSPCA.

Avian Influenza

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Food Standards Agency on the decision not to proceed with legal proceedings against Bernard Matthews in relation to the outbreak of H5N1 at the Holton Plant; what was discussed; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA has regular discussions with the Food Standards Agency on a range of issues. However, the decision whether or not to prosecute Bernard Matthews was solely a matter for the FSA to investigate and its legal services to advise on. The FSA has carefully scrutinised and considered the evidence in this case and concluded there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

Beaches: Standards

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring his Department carries out to ensure that coastal bathing waters are clean.

Ian Pearson: Monitoring of coastal bathing waters is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the 1976 European Bathing Water Directive. The parameters to be monitored are listed in the annex of the directive, which can be found on the DEFRA website.
	In 2006, a record 99.6 per cent. of coastal bathing waters in the UK met the mandatory standard.

Birds

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on the migrating British bird population of the hunting and shooting policies of EU member states.

Barry Gardiner: There have been no recent assessments of the effects of hunting and shooting policies in EU member states on populations of migratory birds in Britain. Outside of Britain, assigning bird mortality to different causes is not currently possible because of a lack of data.

Birds

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of recent trends in bird populations in the UK.

Barry Gardiner: Following an increase in the 1990s, the overall indicator of 113 breeding bird populations in the United Kingdom is nearly 10 per cent. higher than it was in 1970.
	Populations of UK farmland birds are about 60 per cent. of their 1970 level but have remained fairly stable since the early 1990s. The farmland bird index for England, which is used to measure progress against DEFRA's Public Service Agreement target, gives a similar picture, suggesting that the decline in farmland bird populations has now been halted but not reversed.

Birds: Conservation

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with other EU states on their policies affecting the population of migrating birds;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on negotiations with EU member states on policies which affect the migration of birds across Europe.

Barry Gardiner: Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the Conservation of Wild Birds ("the Birds Directive") provides a common framework for the conservation of naturally occurring species of wild birds and their habitats throughout the European Union.
	Discussions on policies which affect the populations of migratory birds across Europe are usually held with other European member states at ORNIS Committee meetings (the Committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Birds Directive). The ORNIS Committee consists of officials from each European member state. My Department is the lead for the UK Government for matters pertaining to the Birds Directive and it carries out a wide range of discussions with other Government Departments and devolved Administrations on relevant issues.
	The European Commission, in cooperation with member states, has produced a number of Community Management Plans for huntable species considered to have an unfavourable conservation status. The plans typically aim to address the most urgent issues to halt the decline of populations in the EU. The goal of the plans is to restore species back to favourable conservation status. It is the responsibility of the relevant authorities in each member state to put into effect the activities listed in the plan.

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of carbon dioxide emissions were attributable to  (a) electricity generation,  (b) domestic aviation,  (c) international aviation and  (d) road transport in (i) 1990, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006.

Ian Pearson: The percentage contributions of electricity generation, domestic aviation, and road transport to UK carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 1990 and 2005 (the latest year for which figures are available) are shown in the following table. Under internationally agreed rules for reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from international aviation are recorded as memorandum items in the national greenhouse gas inventories, but are not included in the national totals.
	
		
			  CO 2  emissions as a percentage of UK total 
			   Public electricity and heat production  Domestic aviation  Road transport 
			 1990 34.5 0.2 18.5 
			 2005 31.1 0.4 21.6 
		
	
	If international aviation were included in the total UK emissions, CO2 from this source would contribute 2.6 per cent. in 1990 and 5.9 per cent. in 2005.

Common Fisheries Policy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans he has to raise the issue of  (a) the treatment of the UK under the Common Fisheries Policy and  (b) compliance with fishing quotas by other nations at the next Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what information he has received from the European Commission on  (a) levels of over-fishing of bluefin tuna by French vessels and  (b) the penalties imposed on France by the European Commission in respect of such over-fishing; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We understand that the level of bluefin tuna over-fishing declared by France in 2005 was 2,572 tons (an over-fish of 38 per cent.). Figures for 2006 catches have yet to be finalised, however current data shows over-fishing of 1,836 tons (27 per cent.). At present, no penalties have been proposed by the Commission.
	The Government share the concerns that the hon. Member is raising. It would be inconsistent for the European Commission to apply the rules on payback to the UK for its declared over-fishing of mackerel and herring, but not to do so on the over-fishing of bluefin tuna declared by France.
	I raised this issue at the Agricultural and Fisheries Council on 18 April. It will be raised again at the next Fisheries Council Meeting in May. I have also written to the Fisheries Commissioner explaining my dissatisfaction with the approach being taken. We await a response from the Commission.

Common Fisheries Policy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on UK fishing rights; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The European Commission published a paper in February 2007 looking at how member states allocate and manage access and rights to fishery resources. An Explanatory Memorandum on this topic has been considered by the European Scrutiny committee, and the UK Government will be taking an active role in this discussion as it progresses.
	The issues addressed are already being considered as part of the UK's Quota Management Change Programme. Public consultation on this topic is planned for later in the year. Further discussions on the European Commission's paper will also be informed by the findings of the Programme.

Darwin Initiative: Latin America

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of projects funded by the Darwin Initiative Fund in Latin America.

Barry Gardiner: Since the launch of the Darwin Initiative in 1992, around 100 projects have been funded in Latin America. All of these projects were required to submit an annual report for each year of the project, and a final report upon completion. These reports are all assessed by independent expert reviewers to ensure that the projects are (and have been) effective in implementing what they set out to do.
	We have also conducted five Mid-Term Reviews in Latin America. These involve an expert reviewer visiting projects to carry out an in-depth review. The review process serves to highlight areas where the projects could improve, as well as examples of good practice that could be used to help other current and future Darwin Initiative projects.
	In December 2005, we conducted an evaluation of four closed Darwin Initiative projects in Peru. The report confirmed that the overall legacy and sustainability impacts from all the projects could be clearly demonstrated.
	In December 2006, we conducted an evaluation of five closed Darwin Initiative projects in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. This review showed that all the projects met their original objectives and achieved positive outcomes and impacts. In particular success was achieved in three key areas; investing in people, mutual learning and technology transfer, networking and long-term relationship development.

Departmental Responsibilities

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the creation of a Department of Energy and the Environment; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: None.

Fish

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the estimated stocks of sea bass in British coastal waters were in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what measures are in place to preserve sea bass stocks; what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the monitoring of those measures; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Estimates of stocks of sea bass in each of the last 10 years are not available. However, scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea suggests that the bass stock appears to be fished sustainably. A recent study assessing bass stocks in British coastal waters by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science suggests that the biomass of the adult population has approximately doubled between 1995 and 2004. This is supported by catches in the UK fishery, which have increased from 1,234 to 2,211 tonnes over the same period.
	Current European Union legislation protects sea bass by specifying a minimum landing size (MLS) of 36 centimetres (cm). Below this size, bass cannot be landed and corresponding mesh sizes must be used for both fixed and trawl gear when bass is targeted. Some Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs) have introduced a higher MLS of 37.5 cm which applies within the relevant district. The UK has also designated 37 specified areas in which bass fishing from a boat is prohibited. DEFRA is also currently considering the introduction in England of an increased MLS of 40 cm.
	The Marine and Fisheries Agency, SFCs and, in some estuaries, the Environment Agency enforce EU and national regulations on bass. Clear infringements of the regulations are taken very seriously and prosecuted under law. All inspections are recorded and offences logged, and this information is used in prioritising future inspections.

Flood Control

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on  (a) hard engineering flood defences and  (b) soft engineering flood defences as a percentage of total flood defence spending in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency does not differentiate between soft and hard engineering in assessing expenditure. The agency uses the most appropriate environmentally acceptable, financially viable and technically feasible solutions based on the conditions at the specific location.

Flood Control

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of soft engineering methods for flood management; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government encourage the flood risk management operating authorities, primarily the Environment Agency (EA), to consider various options when considering solutions to flood risk and to work with natural processes wherever possible. The optimum solution for a particular location will depend on the individual circumstances, for example, the use of beaches to absorb wave energy is a widely used "soft" technique.
	DEFRA is participating in a pan-European research programme under which seven international consortia of researchers are investigating the effectiveness of various non-structural approaches to flood risk as part of the CRUE Eranet research co-ordination programme. These projects will report in 2008.
	The EA has carried out a great deal of work on the effectiveness of soft engineering methods, especially on the key issue of sustainability. Beaches are dynamic and will respond naturally to changing conditions, including sea level rise, whereas a "hard" sea wall is a rigid structure which can often accelerate problems including erosion over a period of time. In addition to their sea defence function, soft engineering solutions will also often provide amenity, landscape and nature conservation benefits.

Furs: Domestic Animals

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what progress the Government have made in tackling the trade in fur from domestic animals since 1997;
	(2)  what further steps the Government are considering in tackling the trade in fur from domestic animals.

Ben Bradshaw: Farming any animal solely or primarily for its fur was banned in England and Wales by the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000. There are no longer any registered fur farmers operating in the UK.
	Additionally, in response to public concerns about the trade in cat and dog fur, the European Commission (EC) has proposed a new regulation to ban trade in these products. There have been working group meetings to discuss the EC's proposal, which Germany has chaired as current EU presidency.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Potatoes

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he make it his policy to suspend the proposed trials of genetically modified potatoes;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with his Dutch counterpart on trials of genetically modified potatoes.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA has clarified the background to this decision with the Dutch authorities. In the light of this, and our own analysis, we are clear that the Dutch court ruling does not have direct bearing on the decision we have already made to approve a GM potato trial in Cambridgeshire. We are also confident that it does not have a bearing on the decision we are due to take on a proposed trial site in east Yorkshire as part of the same research programme. We are confident that appropriate risk assessment procedures are being followed in relation to the trials in England, consistent with the specific requirements of our legislation.

Gyrodactylus Salaris

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of  (a) "Estimating transmission parameters of Gyrodactylus: a key requirement for contingency planning" and  (b) Development of a risk evaluation system for the establishment of Gyrodactylus salaris in English and Welsh river systems research projects.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA is funding work on  (a) and  (b) through projects already under way at the University of Stirling and through work being carried out by scientists at the Cefas Laboratory in Weymouth. Good progress is being made on both projects. Work to construct a database characterising river sites throughout England and Wales (carried out in close co-operation with the Environment Agency) is well advanced. To date, information has been compiled on fish populations from over 8,000 sites, data on water quality from 120,000 sites and data on gyrodactylids from 350 sites. The next phase, beginning shortly, will be to develop a risk evaluation system for the establishment of Gyrodactylus salaris (Gs) based on data of high risk sites including sites with the potential to spread disease to wild populations.
	Research into Gs on these specific matters and related projects is being co-ordinated with scientists in other departments and the devolved Administrations.

Land Drainage: Churches

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether he is able to intervene to assist churches facing increased charges for surface water drainage;
	(2)  if he will discuss with Ofwat the impact of Northumbria Water's decision to install water meters in some churches.

Ian Pearson: In 2003, Ofwat carried out a review of Surface Water Drainage charges for non-household customers. This recommended a move from charging based on rateable values towards a site-area method. Ofwat considers that charging by site-area is the fairest method: it ensures that individual customers pay for the load which they impose on the drainage system.
	Every year each water company proposes a charging scheme which Ofwat must approve. Non-household customers should pay for their water on the basis of the company's charges scheme, or on the basis of a specific agreement between the customer and the company.
	My right hon. friend the Secretary of State issued guidance in 2000 on matters that Ofwat must have regard to when exercising its power to approve charges schemes. This explains that it is inappropriate to charge all non-household customers as if they were businesses. If premises such as churches are charged on the same basis as the other non-household users, they can face disproportionately high costs. Such premises should be able to benefit from tariffs which reflect their relatively small demand on the water system.

Litter

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to improve the performance of local authorities in removing litter from rural roads.

Ben Bradshaw: Local authorities (LAs) have a duty to clear litter from public streets and other highways, including rural roads, and also have a range of enforcement powers to ensure areas remain clean. DEFRA is already taking steps to ensure that LAs comply with this duty and make full and effective use of their amended powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
	DEFRA produced guidance for LAs covering the legislation on litter and refuse to coincide with the commencement of measures in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. This was distributed to all LAs and is available from DEFRA's website. It is complemented by a 'Knowledge Bank' on litter, developed in partnership with Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS), which offers further practical information for LAs as well as case studies on litter management.
	DEFRA also published a revised code of practice on litter and refuse in April 2006. This provides statutory, practical guidance on the litter duty, and the standards that must be met by bodies responsible for discharging that duty. The code places an emphasis on the consistent and appropriate management of land to keep it clear of litter. It also sets recovery times for restoring local environmental standards for litter, refuse and detritus as a last resort, should they fall to an unacceptable level.
	In addition, all LAs submit data on the cleanliness of their areas to central Government on an annual basis through Best Value Performance Indicator 199a. Members of the public can also use an interactive website www.bvpi.gov.uk to check the performance of any authority. Data are also collected through the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England run by ENCAMS. Collection of data allows Government to monitor performance and offer additional support and guidance to LAs where it is needed.

Packaging

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the targets set by supermarkets and food producers under the Courtauld Commitment have been met.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 16 April 200 7
	13 major retailers (representing 92 per cent. of the UK grocery sector) signed up to the Courtauld Commitment in 2005. They agreed to work with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to design out packaging waste growth by 2008, deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste by 2010 and identify ways to tackle the problem of food waste.
	Three major brands also signed the Commitment at the 'One Year On' event I chaired in November last year. At that event, WRAP reported that a great deal of preparatory progress had been made since the voluntary agreement was signed. However, more still needed to be done in order to achieve the required reductions in packaging.
	Each signatory to the Commitment has been developing its own programme of work with WRAP to reduce packaging and packaging waste. A number of retailers have now made announcements setting their own specific performance targets on waste and other environmental issues.
	WRAP is currently collating up-to-date information on achievements arising from the Commitment against its current business plan targets. These results will be included in WRAP's 2006-07 achievements report due later this year.

Radioactive Wastes: Waste Management

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish the report on handling waste from the decommissioning of nuclear establishments; and what the reasons are for the delay in its publication.

Ian Pearson: On 25 October 2006, the Secretary of State for DEFRA announced the Government response to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's (CoRWM) recommendations on the best options for the long-term management of the UK's higher activity radioactive waste. The announcement accepted CoRWM's recommendation on geological disposal and its recommendations for safe and secure interim storage.
	The UK Government and devolved Administrations are now working to prepare a public consultation document on the Government's framework for the implementation of geological disposal. Our aim is to publish this in the summer, and it will include proposals for a voluntarist/partnership approach to site selection, and an outline geological disposal delivery programme.
	The UK policy for managing solid low-level radioactive waste (LLW) was announced on 26 March 2007. The new policy puts providing public safety at the forefront of dealing with LLW. It sets out a more flexible and pragmatic approach to its management, stressing the need to minimise the amount of waste created and recognising the need to involve the public in developing and authorising LLW management plans.
	Copies of our response to CoRWM and the UK policy for managing LLW can be found in the Libraries of the House.

Ritual Slaughter

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of meat prepared according to shechita that is sold without labelling to this effect;
	(2)  if his Department will consider introducing mandatory labelling of all meat prepared according to halal and kosher rules.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 April 2007
	 DEFRA has made no estimation of the proportion of meat prepared according to shechita that is sold without labelling to this effect.
	Compulsory labelling of meat would require action at the European level, and this is not an area where the Government expects to see changes in labelling law in the foreseeable future. However, there is nothing to stop such information being provided voluntarily.

State Veterinary Service

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of  (a) marketing and  (b) changes to stationery from the change of name of the State Veterinary Service to Animal Health.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The information is as follows.
	 (a) There is no actual cost of marketing as the change to Animal Health has been aligned with the organisation's new corporate brochure which is produced annually and sent to stakeholders, as well as the production of the corporate plan and business plan which have to be produced annually. These have therefore been produced using the new agency name, and would have been produced anyway.
	 (b) Estimated stationery costs are: redesign of business cards, compliment slips and letter-headed paper—£1,600. IBM work to design and roll out online versions of fax and letterhead templates to staff, £2,500. These are quotes at the moment, Animal Health is awaiting final bills.

Waste Management: Greater London

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statutory powers the proposed London Waste and Recycling Forum will have to carry out its strategic waste management functions London-wide.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 27 November 2006, Official Report , column 314W.

Whales: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many whales  (a) Norway,  (b) Iceland and  (c) Japan have caught since the last meeting of the International Whaling Commission.

Ben Bradshaw: For the 2005-06 period, the number of whales taken by species and by country, is shown in the following table. This is based on information reported to the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   Minke  Sei  Bryde's  Fin  Sperm 
			 Japan (1)1,078 (1)100 (1)50 (1)10 (1)5 
			 Norway 639 — — — — 
			 Iceland (1)39 — — — — 
			 (1) Under Special Permit. 
		
	
	For the 2006-07 period, the following quotas, either under objection to the moratorium or as part of a special ("scientific") permit, have been issued by the countries concerned.
	
		
			  2006-07 
			   Minke  Sei  Bryde's  Fin  Sperm  Humpback 
			 Japan (1)1,155 (1)100 (1)50 (1)10 (1)5 (1)10 
			 Norway 1,052 — — — — — 
			
			 Iceland 69 — — 10 — — 
			  (1)(39) — — — — — 
			 (1) Under Special Permit. 
		
	
	However, for the first time, information on recent catches taken by commercial, aboriginal and scientific permit whaling will be reported in May, at this year's annual meeting of the IWC.

Whales: Conservation

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action he is taking to maintain a majority in the International Whaling Commission in favour of the moratorium on commercial whaling.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 19 April 2007
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 8 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2186W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will prepare and place in the Library a progress report on the aims and timetable contained in the London Afghanistan Compact; and how long she estimates it would take to produce such a report.

Ian McCartney: Officials are drafting a note on progress made against the Afghanistan Compact benchmarks. This will be completed by the Whitsun recess. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan: Drugs

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the UK Government's efforts to reduce the production of heroin in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime estimates that 70 per cent. of the heroin produced from Afghan opium is now manufactured within Afghanistan itself. The UK is spending £270 million over the next three years to help the Afghan Government tackle all aspects of the heroin trade through their National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS).
	The NDCS identifies targeting traffickers at the top end of the trade as the best way to deal with the production and trafficking of opiates. With our assistance, the Afghan authorities have convicted over 350 drug traffickers in the last 18 months. Reports from the United Nations Development Programme show that between March 2005 and March 2006 the authorities seized 70 tonnes of opiates and destroyed 245 laboratories. The UK is also contributing to the Afghan government's efforts to stem the flow of chemicals used in the production of heroin into their country.

Afghanistan: Drugs

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of drug cultivation levels in Afghanistan in 2007.

Ian McCartney: Afghanistan may be facing another year of high poppy cultivation. The UN Office of Drugs and Crime's Winter Assessment Survey (WAS), released in March, is a snapshot that tries to identify early trends in cultivation. The WAS shows a mixed picture. It suggests that cultivation is down in the north and stable in the centre and west. These are areas where there is better security, governance and development. It also suggests that cultivation is heading up in the south and east, including in Helmand, Kandahar and Nangarhar. In the south, security challenges, insurgent activity and the lack of extension of rule of law continue to present major obstacles to poppy elimination.

Burma: Human Rights

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the treatment of four girls aged between 14 and 16 years in Putao District, Kachin State by members of the Burma Army and the subsequent imprisonment of the girls; what representations she has made to the Burmese Government on this case; and if she will take steps to press the Burmese authorities  (a) to release the girls,  (b) to investigate the case and  (c) to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

Ian McCartney: holding answers  16 April 2007
	We are aware of reports in the Burmese media about the detention of four girls in Putao District and we are concerned about how their complaint has been treated by the authorities. I intend to raise this issue at a senior level with the Burmese authorities to demand a formal investigation into the alleged rapes at the earliest opportunity.

Central African Republic: Peace Negotiations

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of reports that the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity in the Central African Republic (CAR) have signed a peace agreement to disarm and to join the CAR National Army.

Ian McCartney: The UK is concerned at the ongoing conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), which suffers from both internal conflict and from the impact of instability in the region.
	We welcome the signing of the peace agreement made on 2 February between President Bozize and various rebel groups, including the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UDFR), operating in the CAR, which provides for an immediate cessation of hostilities. We welcome reports of the potential release of some of the former UDFR leaders from prison and also the planned rehabilitation, disarming and possible integration of former UDFR rebels into the national army. We hope that this will promote the advance of national reconciliation.

Departments: Training

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department spent on language training for its staff in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The total cost of language training charged to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) account was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 3,101,000 
			 2003-04 5,717,000 
			 2004-05 4,265,000 
			 2005-06 5,564,832 
		
	
	The figures for 2006-07 are not available yet.
	The figures include training costs in the UK and overseas for FCO officers and their spouses/officially recognised partners.
	The figures given cover pre-posting and developmental external language tuition, language centre expenses, exam fees, students travel and subsistence. The figures are an aggregate of costs paid to the FCO Services' language training division and costs paid direct from the FCO account for language training related expenses.

Diplomatic Service: Broadband

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK embassies and ambassador residences in European countries have access to wireless broadband.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 19 April 2007
	 Two residences in European countries have officially recognised wireless networks; there are none in embassies or consular offices.

East Timor: Armed Conflict

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of recent conflict in East Timor; and what reports she has received from the UK embassy in Jakarta on the conflict.

Ian McCartney: Following deployment of an International Stabilisation Force requested by the Government of East Timor, in response to the unrest in early 2006, the security situation improved and force numbers were reduced. However, renewed outbreaks of violence in February and March saw some fatalities, incidents of looting and attacks on vehicles. We urged all concerned to bring an end to the violence and to resolve the problems within the framework of the constitution and laws of East Timor. The situation has calmed since and the first round of presidential elections on 9 April passed off without any major security incident. We warmly welcome this and have urged that the campaigns for the second round of the presidential elections and the subsequent parliamentary elections should proceed equally peacefully. None the less the security situation in East Timor remains extremely fragile and could deteriorate at short notice. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office therefore continues to advise British nationals against all travel to East Timor at this time.
	We remain in close contact with our embassy in Jakarta and with other diplomatic missions in East Timor.

EC Integration

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions Ministers from her Department have met representatives of campaign bodies and think tanks advocating closer EU integration in the last 12 months.

Geoff Hoon: I and other Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers regularly meet representatives of think tanks and other organisations with a wide spectrum of views on EU issues, both in the UK and while on overseas visits.

Embassies: Manpower

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff were employed in British embassies in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The following chart sets out the total number of staff employed by the Government at Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Posts overseas on 1 April for each of the past five years:-
	
		
			   Number of UK-based staff  Number of locally engaged staff 
			 2007 2,807 10,730 
			 2006 2,798 10,063 
			 2005 2,719 10,811 
			 2004 2,673 9,466 
			 2003 (1)2,017 9,062 
			 (1) We introduced a new and more accurate management information system in 2004. The figures for 2003 are less reliable; they are likely to be an underestimate. 
		
	
	In addition there are a small number of staff at some posts who are employed locally and are not paid through the FCO payroll. These numbers are not held centrally.

Ethiopia: Kidnapping

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made on behalf of the Ethiopian citizens who were taken captive against their will alongside staff from the British embassy and who remain in captivity.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 19 April 2007
	The Government remain concerned at the continued abduction of the Ethiopian citizens that were taken captive on 2 March. Embassy officials in Addis Ababa, other British and European nationals, that were abducted at the same time, were released on 13 March. Upon their release, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary issued a press statement and called for the release of the Ethiopians. Our ambassador in Addis Ababa also issued a press statement on 27 March calling for their release. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, met with the Ethiopian ambassador on 21 March to discuss the issue and has also raised the issue in the media.
	We will continue to make representations in support of the release of the abducted Ethiopians, including with the Eritreans, and will engage with those that might be able to help facilitate their release.
	We shall continue to call for the release of the Ethiopians publicly and privately.

European Commission: Motor Vehicles

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many vehicles are owned by the European Commission.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold the information requested. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

European Union

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which agencies in the UK are recognised source points for providing information about the European Union.

Geoff Hoon: A wide range of organisations provide public information about a range of EU issues including central Government Departments, local government, other public bodies, the European Commission, the European Parliament, business groups and non-governmental organisations. The European Commission supports a network of providers, including some 30 Europe Direct Centres in the UK. These operate as drop in centres which provide the public with a range of literature and where staff are available to answer questions on the EU. The related Europe Direct Contact Centre operates a freephone telephone service which is available from anywhere in the EU. The number is 00800 67891011.

European Union

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution her Department makes to decisions on the information and publicity material produced by the European Union which may be distributed in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) maintains regular dialogue with the European Institutions about their policy and approach towards raising awareness and debate on EU issues. For example, the Government submitted a response to the European Commission consultation on their "White Paper on a European Communications Policy" in 2006. The FCO is also working with the UK Representation of the European Commission and the UK Office of the European Parliament on specific initiatives such as the development of Europe Direct Centres and the "Learning Together" initiative I launched in March to increase partnerships between UK schools and their counterparts in Europe. The FCO has not given any detailed input into information or publicity materials produced by the EU Institutions.

European Union

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures have been planned to increase the profile of the European Union in the UK, with reference to  (a) the 2009 European Parliament elections and  (b) the debate on the European Constitution; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Government remain committed to engaging with the UK public to generate greater awareness and a mature debate about EU issues. Our work to raise awareness and debate on the future of Europe and EU dossiers has included ministerial speeches and events, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website europe.gov.uk and a printed "Guide to the European Union" available in English, Welsh and audio formats. In respect of the European Parliament elections scheduled for 2009, the independent Electoral Commission is responsible for promoting public awareness and understanding of arrangements for voting at elections in the UK. Additionally, the Electoral Administration Act 2006 places a duty on local electoral officers to take appropriate steps to promote electoral participation in their area.

Fatah

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have had with Farouk Kaddoumi, General Secretary of Fatah, during his visit to the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Ministers and officials have no plans to meet with Head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation Political Department and Secretary-General of Fatah, Farouk Kaddoumi, during his visit to the UK.

Iran: Baha'i Sect

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports she has received on the treatment of the Baha'i community in Iran.

Ian McCartney: We continue to have concerns about the situation of religious minorities in Iran and treatment of the Baha'i community in particular. We often receive reports of discrimination against Baha'is in Iran from the National Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom.
	Denial of access to higher education has been a long-term problem for Baha'i students, effectively banned from entry to universities because of their religion. Although 178 Baha'i students were admitted to various campuses after the removal of religious identification from the entrance exam papers last autumn, recent reports suggest that at least 70 were subsequently expelled as universities became aware of their religion. We have also received some reports about persecution of Baha'i school children, and are currently trying to find out more information about these serious claims. We will take further action as appropriate.
	We continue to raise this issue bilaterally and through the EU, and have pressed the Iranian authorities on many occasions to take seriously their international human rights obligations, uphold the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and address the intimidation and discrimination suffered by Iranian Baha'is. We also take action at the UN and in December 2006 we, along with all EU countries, co-sponsored a resolution on human rights in Iran, which expressed serious concern at
	"the escalation and increased frequency of discrimination and other human rights violations against members of the Baha'i Faith".

Iran: Exports

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the total  (a) number and  (b) value of (i) military and (ii) non-military British exports reaching Iran via other foreign states which contravene the existing sanctions against Iran.

Kim Howells: No such estimates have been made. Licences are required for direct exports of military and dual-use items from the UK. Licences are also required for any person in the UK, or any UK person overseas, to participate in the supply of military items to Iran from any third country. Licences would not be issued if they contravened sanctions. Likewise, licences for all countries are carefully assessed against the risk of diversion to other countries under undesirable conditions.
	Licensing data by destination is published in the Quarterly and Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls (available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelertae/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029395474.
	The UK has had a national arms embargo in force on Iran since March 1993, and all applications for military items have been refused, except in a very limited number of circumstances that have been announced in the House. The EU will implement UN Security Council Resolution 1747 by imposing a standard arms embargo on Iran. This is scheduled to come into force when the Common Position is adopted today.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her policy is on the provision of assistance from British overseas posts to Iraqi nationals who have left Iraq after threats of violence because of their work as interpreters with the British Army.

Kim Howells: All such requests for assistance from Iraqi citizens who served for the Government in Iraq are dealt with on a case by case basis, taking account of their particular circumstances.

Iraq: Weapons

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1957W, on the weapons of mass destruction dossier 
	(1)  why she has no plans to publish Mr. John Williams' draft document, extracts from it, or to confirm details of the contents; why the draft document was not made available to the inquiry led by Lord Hutton; and whether her Department retains the document;
	(2)  whether the draft of the dossier on weapons of mass destruction produced by the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Mr. John Scarlett, on 10 September 2002  (a) was based upon and  (b) took into account the draft document produced by Mr. John Williams on 9 September 2002;
	(3)  whether reference was made to Iraq's ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes in  (a) an assessment by the Joint Intelligence Committee prior to 9 September 2002,  (b) a draft of the dossier by the Joint Intelligence Committee prior to 9 September 2002,  (c) the draft document produced by Mr. John Williams on 9 September 2002 and  (d) the draft document produced by Mr. John Scarlett on 10 September 2002;
	(4)  who the author was of the executive summary of the dossier on weapons of mass destruction in September 2002;
	(5)  who the members were of the dossier on weapons of mass destruction drafting group in September 2002; at which meeting the dossier was signed off on behalf of the group; and which members of the group were present at that meeting.

Margaret Beckett: holding answers 16 April 2007
	Matters relating to the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) dossier were examined in great detail by the inquiry led by Lord Hutton, Lord Butler's "Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction" and the Intelligence and Security Committee's report "Iraqi WMD—Intelligence and Assessments". These inquiries placed into the public domain as much information as it was possible to do without prejudicing national security.

Iraq-Kuwait Conflict: Compensation

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many people in the UK are affected by the UN Compensation Commission's request for part of the money paid to people detained in Iraq during the First Gulf War to be repaid;
	(2)  if she will make representations to the UN regarding people detained in Iraq during the First Gulf War being asked to repay part of the compensation awarded by the UN Compensation Commission to the effect that the overpayment be written off;
	(3)  whether she plans to provide support to those people detained in Iraq during the First Gulf War who are unable to repay part of the compensation awarded by the UN Compensation Commission because their financial circumstances preclude it.

Kim Howells: holding answers  19 April 2007
	The UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) has identified 113 UK claimants who have received compensation overpayment. The Government have been asked to make "best efforts" to contact the claimants concerned and to request repayment of the sums involved.
	The Governing Council of the UNCC has asked that "best efforts" be made by all concerned Governments to seek to recover relevant overpayments from affected claimants and for Governments to report back on progress before the next UNCC Governing Council in June.
	The UK supported the general consensus in the Governing Council to adopt a "best efforts" approach to the recovery of overpayments.

Iraq-Kuwait Conflict: Compensation

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors informed the decisions by the UN Compensation Commission on who  (a) should and  (b) should not receive compensation payments following detention during the First Gulf War.

Kim Howells: The UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) was established in 1991 by UN Security Council Resolution 687 to process claims and pay compensation for death, injury, losses and damages suffered by individuals, corporations, Governments and international organisations as a direct result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
	There were six categories of claims which were assessed and resolved by panels of Commissioners who were independent experts in fields such as law, accountancy, loss adjustment, insurance and engineering.
	The UNCC's claims processing procedures were prescribed by the Security Council and were further elaborated by the Governing Council in a number of its decisions which were implemented by the panels of Commissioners.
	The panels submitted their recommendations on claims to the Governing Council for approval.

Iraq-Kuwait Conflict: Compensation

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether double payment of elements of the awards made to people detained in Iraq during the First Gulf War forms the basis for the UN Compensation Commission's request for part of the money to be repaid.

Kim Howells: The UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) has conducted a full investigation aimed at identifying duplicate claims and other claims raising overpayment issues. As a result, around 30,000 compensation awards have been formally corrected by the UNCC Governing Council. The total corrections represent around US$80 million. These corrections have arisen for a number of reasons, including some claims which were identified as having being paid twice. Of the total amount of corrections, around US$73.7 million remains to be recovered from claimants.
	Following the corrections, governments of claimants in receipt of overpayments, and other submitting entities, have been asked by the UNCC Governing Council to "make best efforts" to seek to recover amounts from their affected claimants. The basis for the amount requested depends on the circumstances of each individual case.

Israel: EU Aid

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial support is being given by the EU to the non-governmental organisation the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions; what the purpose is of the financial support; what  (a) representations were received from and  (b) discussions were held with the Israeli Government prior to giving financial support; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The European Commission has provided the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions with 472,786 for a two year project which started in 2005. The project aims to act as a means of raising political consciousness in Israel about the peace process by bringing Israelis into direct contact with Palestinians and the Occupation through house rebuilding and other political activities. More details of the project can be found on the European Parliament's website at:
	http://www.curoparl.curopa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/dv/projectshrisrael_/projectshrisrael_en.pdf.
	We are not aware of any representations or discussions between the EU and the Israeli Government regarding this project.

Israel: EU Aid

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial support  (a) the UK Government and  (b) the EU is giving to Bimkom, a non-governmental organisation in Israel; what the purpose is of the financial support; what (i) representations were received from and (ii) discussions were held with the Israeli Government prior to giving financial support; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: In 2005, we agreed to fund Bimkom's study into the effects of the barrier in the West Bank. In 2007, we agreed to grant Bimkom £80,300 in order to provide comprehensive information concerning the planning situation of Palestinian villages and land in area C which would then be used as a basis to prevent house demolitions and press for the development of appropriate plans for these villages with the aim of significantly improving the situation and living conditions of their residents. Prior to the decision to fund these projects, the Israeli Government did not make any representations regarding Bimkom. However, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs did make representations about the barrier project in February.
	According to the European Parliament's project listings, the European Commission is providing €295,799 for a two year project which started in 2006. More details of the project proposal can be found on the European Parliament's website at:
	http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/dv/projectshrisrael_/projectshrisrael_en.pdf.

Kazakhstan: Corruption

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of corruption in Kazakhstan.

Geoff Hoon: The Kazakh Law "On Fighting Corruption" requires every state executive to submit annual declarations of income received and property owned within and outside the Republic of Kazakhstan. President Nazarbayev, in his 28 February address to the nation, focused on the need to do more. Allegations of systematic corruption in Kazakhstan remain rife and Kazakhstan features as 111th on the 2006 Transparency International index (a slight improvement from 125th three years ago). However, substantive evidence regarding specific examples is rare and it is therefore difficult to make an accurate assessment of the scale of corruption. The Government actively urge Kazakhstan to address these issues. Most recently, we sponsored a meeting, on 18 April, on the role of oil and gas contracts in sustainable development. The UK is also a leading supporter of Kazakhstan's work on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Marc Swanson

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1775W, on Marc Swanson, on what dates her officials in Brazil had contact with the local police; and what information was received on each occasion.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 19 April 2007
	Since November 2003 consular officials have been in regular contact with the various Brazilian departments that are involved in the investigation into Mr. Swanson's disappearance. I have asked officials in Consular Directorate in London to write to the hon. Member with a comprehensive chronology of the contacts our staff in Brazil have had with the local Brazilian Police. Copies of the letter will also be placed in the Library of the House.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter of 26 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mrs K. Mirza.

Ian McCartney: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right. hon. Friend. A reply will be sent out shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter of 2 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Rhoda Chigwedere.

Ian McCartney: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend. A reply was sent out on 12 April 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter of 26 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. Ghulam Nabi.

Ian McCartney: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend. A reply was sent out on 12 April 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter of 1 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Ufuoma Marcello.

Ian McCartney: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend. A reply was sent out on 13 April 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter of 5 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. A. Zulfiqar.

Ian McCartney: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend. A reply was sent out on 12 April 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter of 5 March from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. Farouq Ahmed.

Ian McCartney: I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend. A reply was sent out on 12 April 2007.

Mercenaries: Regulation

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department has taken to follow up the 2002 Green Paper entitled Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation.

Kim Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 12 March 2007,  Official Report, column 93W.

North Korea: Human Rights

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the United Kingdom has made to the United Nations Human Rights Council on  (a) political and civil rights,  (b) freedom of the press and  (c) food provision in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Ian McCartney: I raised the UK's ongoing concern at the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in my address to the UN Human Rights Council in March.
	At the same meeting, the EU presidency, on behalf of member states, made a statement underlining its concerns about widespread violations of human rights in the DPRK, including the lack of freedom of expression, assembly, association and movement as well as arbitrary detention, extra-judicial and public executions, routine use of torture, forced abortions and infanticide, political prison camps and extreme religious persecution.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials raised the issue of future food security with the UN Special Rapporteur for the DPRK Human Rights during the March session.

North Korea: Nuclear Power

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's compliance with the deadline agreed at the Six Party Talks in Beijing in February to close the Yongbyon nuclear reactor.

Ian McCartney: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) did not shut down and seal the Yongbyon nuclear facility by the agreed deadline of 14 April. The North Koreans made clear that they would not start the process until North Korean accounts with Banco Asia Delta in Macau had been unfrozen and returned; which for technical reasons took longer than expected. South Korean media reports suggest that the DPRK has now begun work to dismantle the Yongbyon reactor, but we have not seen independent confirmation of this. The five other members of the Six Party Talks are working together to ensure that the DPRK complies with the commitments it has entered into.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress her Department has made on negotiations towards a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty; and what the key obstacles are to such negotiations.

Ian McCartney: The UK continues to push for the early start of negotiations, without preconditions, on a Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT) in the Conference on Disarmament (CD). The UK's, and the wider EU's, support for such a Treaty is well known. In the Common Position negotiated in advance of the 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (7768/05), the EU appealed to the CD for the immediate commencement and early conclusion of a non-discriminatory, universally applicable Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The UK welcomes the US initiative made in Geneva in May 2006 to table a draft treaty text and draft mandate for negotiations. We hope that all CD member states are able to accept the very broad mandate proposed and agree to open negotiations towards a treaty without delay.
	Progress has been blocked by some nations linking the start of FMCT negotiations to progress on other unrelated CD agenda items.

Nuclear Test Ban

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department has taken to bring the comprehensive test ban treaty into force.

Kim Howells: We continue to take every appropriate opportunity at ministerial and official level to encourage states who have not ratified the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty to do so, particularly the 10 remaining annex two countries (those that formally participated in the treaty's negotiation and have nuclear power or research reactors), which must ratify before the treaty can enter into force. We have carried out demarchés, both as part of the EU and bilaterally, and will continue to assist where we can. We have used our overseas missions to assist both the provisional technical secretariat and the executive secretary of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty organisation in regional outreach work. We have also supported the special representative of the ratifiers of the treaty, ambassador Ramaker, with his programme of visits and will continue to do so.

Occupied Territories

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will assess the legality of  (a) advertising in the UK real estate built in the Palestinian Occupied Territories in violation of Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and  (b) the advertisement of new build real estate in Har Homa in the Occupied Territories (i) at the Real Estate Exhibition on 18 March and (ii) in editions of the Jewish Chronicle; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The advertising of such property by private persons in the UK is not unlawful. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burden) on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 39W.

Thailand: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of recent anti-regime protests in Bangkok.

Ian McCartney: Various pro-democracy groups have held small demonstrations in Bangkok since the 19 September 2006 coup. All demonstrations have passed off peacefully. More demonstrations are expected to take place over the coming months and we will continue to monitor developments closely.

Uganda

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations her Department has made to the Ugandan Government on the humanitarian and security situation in northern Uganda.

Ian McCartney: We regularly discuss the humanitarian and security situation in northern Uganda in our contacts with the Ugandan Government.
	Most recently, our high commissioner in Kampala, along with other EU heads of mission, discussed the security situation in northern Uganda with Foreign Minister Kutesa on 11 April. The high commissioner also attended a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee on 30 March, where the humanitarian situation in the north was discussed.
	We are encouraged that the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was extended on 14 April and that the peace talks are set to resume on 26 April. We call on all parties to remain focused on finding a peaceful solution to this long running conflict.

Uganda: Armed Conflict

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of reports that the Ugandan Army in Karamoja province have engaged in the extra-judicial killing of children.

Ian McCartney: The allegations in the Save the Children report are very serious. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Uganda is also looking into the allegations with the co-operation of the Ugandan Government. Once the OHCHR investigation is completed, we will pursue this issue with the Ugandan Government. Our high commissioner, with other members of the Partners for Democracy and Governance Group in Kampala, is planning to visit the region at the end of April.
	We continue, more widely, to raise our concerns with the Ugandan Government about the forced disarmament programme in Karamoja. The high commissioner, with other EU heads of mission, raised this most recently with Foreign Minister Kutesa on 13 April. We continue to press for a peaceful and voluntary disarmament process across the Karamoja region that involves all stakeholders, respects human rights and protects the civilian population.

UN Disarmament Commission

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department has taken to promote the UN Disarmament Commission discussion framework.

Kim Howells: The Government are fully committed to the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) discussion framework. We worked hard to ensure that in April 2006 the UNDC completed its first substantive session since 2003 and that consensus agreement was achieved on the Final Report. This included "recommendations for achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons". Discussions at this year's session of the UNDC are currently under way in New York. The UK delegation hopes to build on last year's achievements this year and in 2008, when the UNDC's current three-year cycle will conclude.

United Nations Human Rights Council

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she expects to report to the House the outcomes of the fourth meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Ian McCartney: At its fourth regular session, 12-30 March, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) received a report on the situation in Darfur; a consensus Council resolution created a mechanism to work to ensure the implementation of existing UN recommendations on human rights in Darfur. The Council discussed the violent repression of peaceful protestors on 11 March in Zimbabwe. It held interactive dialogues with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a range of Special Rapporteurs, and adopted resolutions on several issues. All adopted resolutions are available on the Council's website at:
	www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/4session/resolutions.htm.
	I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House. Statements made by the UK delegation to the HRC, including my address to the Council on 13 March, are available on the website of the UK Mission to the UN in Geneva at:
	www.tco.gov.uk/ukmisgeneva
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also seeks to inform hon. Members of developments at the HRC through a range of means, including its quarterly human rights newsletter, its annual human rights report, dialogue with the Foreign Affairs Committee, and ad hoc meetings such as the joint All-Party Parliamentary Group/Amnesty/FCO panel discussion of the HRC in Parliament on 21 February this year.

Zambia: Economic Situation

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the economy of Zambia; what the unemployment rate is in that country; and who its major  (a) African and  (b) international trading partners are.

Ian McCartney: The International Monetary Fund Article IV report of December 2005 recognised that the Zambian economy had achieved sustained robust growth since 2000 after decades of stagnation. Zambia's gross domestic product has increased from 5.2 per cent. in 2005 to an estimated 5.8 per cent. in 2006. The fastest growing sectors are mining, energy, particularly hydro-electricity generation, construction and tourism. Inflation fell to 8.2 per cent. at the end of 2006, the first time in 30 years that it has been in single figures. Interest rates have consequently fallen.
	According to the latest living conditions monitoring survey undertaken by Zambia's Central Statistical Office in 2004, 9 per cent. of those aged 12 and over who are classified as economically active were unemployed. However, this conceals the fact that many of those who are 'employed' are engaged in casual agricultural work, self-employed or unpaid family work.
	Within Africa Zambia's major trading partners are South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Internationally Zambia's main trading partners are in Asia (led by Japan and China), followed by Europe (Netherlands and UK) and the USA.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by her Department.

Angela Smith: Within the Department, the staff handbook gives guidance to staff on when it might be appropriate to offer hospitality and the financial limits that apply. The purchase of alcohol for hospitality reasons is expected to be rare and limited to small amounts.
	Expenditure within the Department is conducted in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Fire Services: Retirement

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average retirement age was of fire fighters in each of the last 15 years.

Angela Smith: Firefighters are employed by Fire and Rescue authorities who are responsible for Human Resource management. Information about retirement ages is not among the data collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Government Office for London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 1144-5W, on the Government Office for London, if she will provide a breakdown of the staffing figures by  (a) department or function and  (b) Civil Service pay grade.

Angela Smith: The Government Office for London's staffing levels for March 2007, broken down by directorate and civil service pay grade, is as follows(1):( )
	(1) A comparable, detailed directorate breakdown is not available for previous periods. In April 2006 GOL had 303 staff in post.
	
		
			  Grade  Children and Learners  and  Worklessness  Regional Director, Secretariat  a nd Corporate Services  Crime and Drugs  UKTI  GLA, Business and Europe  Local Government, NR, Communities and Locality  London Resiliance team  Planning, Housing and DCMS  Loan /sec out  Total 
			 G3  11 
			 G5 1 1 1  1 4  1  9 
			 G6 2  2  2  1  1 8 
			 G7 6 5 5 2 6 20 1 7  52 
			 SEO + equiv 6  4 2 2 1 1 9 1 26 
			 HEO + equiv 6 16 4 5 13 23 3 6 13 89 
			 EO 4 17 2 2 9 8 5 3 1 51 
			 AO 1 6 1 8 5 5  4 1 31 
			 PS   1   1 
			 Total 26 46 20 19 38 61 11 30 17 268

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the 2016 target for making all new homes carbon neutral will be reached.

Angela Smith: The proposals the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government published on 13 December 2006 set out our draft strategy for moving to zero carbon new homes by 2016. The consultation period on these proposals closed on 8 March 2007 and the final policy statement will be published later this year. My hon. Friend the hon. Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) has also established a small task force chaired jointly with Stewart Baseley from the Home Builders Federation to examine and address any barriers to implementation of the zero carbon homes standard.
	We expect to publish the final proposals later this year.

Housing: Sales

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many house sales were completed in the UK in 2006.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 17 April 2007
	 Data for the UK are not held centrally. A provisional estimate for Great Britain is that there were 1.4 million residential property sales in 2006. This is made up of 1.25 million sales in England and Wales as reported by the Land Registry and 150,000 residential property transactions in Scotland according to Registers of Scotland giving a total of 1.4 million for Great Britain.

Listed Buildings: Energy

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of increased flexibility in rules governing listed buildings to allow them to become more energy efficient without seriously deviating from the character of the building.

Angela Smith: Ancient monuments and listed buildings are exempt from the Building Regulations energy efficiency requirements if compliance would unacceptably alter their character or appearance and I would not want to change this. However the Department works closely with English Heritage to encourage energy efficiency improvements whenever this is appropriate and contributes to the guidance they publish. Interim guides to compliance, where appropriate, were published in 2002 and updated in 2004 and a further comprehensive guide is, I understand, to be published shortly.

Unitary Councils

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her policy is on the extension of unitary authorities to include additional adjoining areas; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: In the White Paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities, we recognise that some councils face challenges by having too tightly drawn boundaries. These may be overcome by cross boundary working, multi area agreements and in some cases a boundary review might be the right option. Our Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, currently before the House, contains provisions for the Boundary Committee to undertake a boundary review at the request of the Secretary of State or a local authority, or on its own initiative.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pathways to Work

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the results of the Pathways to Work employment programme.

Anne McGuire: Latest figures show that Pathways has already helped over 26,500 customers move from an incapacity benefit into work.
	In Pathways areas, the number of recorded job entries for people with health conditions or disabilities has increased by around two-thirds in the 12 months following roll-out.
	Independent evaluation confirms our confidence that our Pathways to Work programme is a success.

Digital TV Job Search Services

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on new digital TV job search services.

Jim Murphy: As part of the Department's commitment to broadening access to job search services, Jobcentre Plus has been working with Looking Local to provide digital TV viewers access to more than 400,000 vacancies advertised by Jobcentres across the country.
	This innovative service enables people seeking work to look for a job at a time and a place convenient to them, and is currently being used 250,000 times a month.

European Social Fund

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the contribution made by the European social fund to projects promoting employment.

Anne McGuire: The European Social Fund supports our policies to extend employment opportunity and develop a skilled work force. It has invested 5 billion in employment and skills provision in Great Britain since 2000.

Departmental Budget Impact

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact that the 2007 Budget will have on the work of his Department.

John Hutton: The Budget contained a range of measures from benefit simplification to substantial changes to the Financial Assistance Scheme which were debated in this House last week.

Child Support Agency

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the recent performance of the Child Support Agency.

James Plaskitt: The performance of the Child Support Agency has been steadily improving under the Operational Improvement Plan. After just the first year of the plan, early results are already showing improvements in key areas.
	I am confident the performance figures for the last quarter, due to be published later this week, will continue to demonstrate the ongoing improvements in the Agency's performance.

Child Support Agency

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department expects the Child Support Agency's successor body to be fully operational.

James Plaskitt: Subject to parliamentary approval, during 2008-09.

Pensioner Statistics

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total value is of all pensions and benefits available to a married pensioner with no savings living in a council house.

James Purnell: The total value of benefits available to married pensioners depends on their circumstances, in particular their national insurance records, income and capital.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the likely impact of the provisions of the Budget 2007 on the Financial Assistance Scheme.

James Purnell: I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer I gave for question number 5 to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Dunne) today.

Social Security Benefits: Credit

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve access to affordable credit for those in receipt of benefit.

James Plaskitt: DWP is delivering the 36 million Growth Fund, which has increased the capacity of credit unions and community development financial institutions to make affordable loans to financially excluded people, many of whom are in receipt of benefit, and who might otherwise turn to doorstep lenders, and loan sharks charging exorbitant rates of interest.
	Up to 31 March the 100+ credit unions and community development finance institutions delivering the affordable loan service across England, Scotland and Wales had made more than 18,000 loans, with a total value in excess of 7.6 million, to people on low income. Around 80 per cent. of Growth Fund loans are made to people in receipt of working age benefits.
	DWP are also delivering the Now Let's Talk Money campaign, which will make people on low incomes aware of the services the Government have made available to them, services such as free face-to-face money advice and affordable credit.

Social Security Benefits: Lie Detectors

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with disability organisations on the implications of the use of lie detection software for benefit claimants affected by mental health conditions; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the implications of the use of lie detection software for benefit claimants who do not have English as a first language; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will monitor and evaluate the impact on vulnerable benefit claimants of the piloting of lie detection software; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: We have had several discussions with disability and other organisations about the plans to test voice risk analysis software as part of wider efforts to improve customer service and reduce fraud. The Department will be considering the impact of this technology on all customers including those who do not have English as a first language and those who are particularly vulnerable.

Social Security Benefits: Lie Detectors

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training will be required of operators of lie detection software in benefit authorities.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 20 April 2007
	Voice risk analysis software analyses changes in voice frequency and helps to identify risk. It is not a lie detector. We intend to pilot this software in the London borough of Harrow, and in income support/jobseeker's allowance claims to test whether it can be used to improve customer service and reduce fraud.
	The amount of training operators of voice risk analysis require varies according to their existing skills and knowledge. However, four days of training supported by a period of mentoring is typical.

Social Security Benefits: Lie Detectors

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to use evidence from lie detection software  (a) to initiate investigation into the validity of benefit claims,  (b) to suspend commencement or payment of benefits and  (c) to bring charges for benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 20 April 2007
	Voice risk analysis software analyses changes in voice frequency and helps to identify risk. It is not a lie detector.
	We intend to pilot this software in the London borough of Harrow on housing benefit and council tax benefit claims and in IS/JSA claims, to test whether it can be used to improve customer service and reduce benefit fraud. The technology should help
	indicate which claims can be processed quickly and which may need additional investigation, but it will not replace existing procedures.

Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many staff were employed to answer Social Fund hotline calls in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much was spent on administering the Social Fund hotline in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(3)  what the average length of time taken to process an application to the Social Fund via the Social Fund hotline was for the last year for which figures are available;
	(4)  what the average length of call was to the Social Fund hotline in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(5)  whether calls to the Social Fund hotline are  (a) recorded and  (b) monitored;
	(6)  how many calls to the Social Fund hotline were  (a) answered and  (b) unanswered in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 23 April 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about Social Fund telephony. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus does not have a Social Fund Hotline. To date, 11 Social Fund Delivery Centres have rolled out nationally. We do not hold information on the cost of administering the Social Fund calls within these centres as these costs will form part of the programme to centralise benefit processing by March 2008. Calls to Social Fund lines are not currently recorded or monitored. Each Jobcentre Plus Region undertakes its own applications and different telephone numbers are currently in place. I am unable to give you a figure for the number of staff taking Social Fund calls in the delivery centres as staff numbers fluctuate in response to the demands on the service.
	We do not have statistics on the average length of each call, however, the introduction of a telephony based crisis loan application system, where the customer applies directly via dedicated telephone numbers, usually allows a loan application to be made within 20 minutes and performance in this area is improving. It is now taking, on average, 1.5 days to process a crisis loan against a target of 2 days.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Education: Assessments

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations he has received on improvements to the Eleven Plus system; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: From time-to-time the Government receive representations both in favour of and against academic selection at eleven plus.
	The Government do not support selection by high academic ability and do not wish to see it extended. Where schools require children to sit selective tests it is for admission authorities to decide upon and administer the testing process.

Educational Institutions: Access

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of  (a) pupil referral units and  (b) special needs units in each local authority conform to Building Bulletin 98 and Building Bulletin 99 regulations.

Jim Knight: Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Special Educational Needs (SEN) units are not required to conform to Building Bulletin 98: Briefing Framework for Secondary Schools or Building Bulletin 99: Briefing Framework for Primary Schools. Special Educational Needs units are, however, recognised in these bulletins as requiring supplementary area to the recommended gross internal floor area for secondary and primary schools. There is separate guidance for Pupil Referral Units and Special Educational Needs units. The Department does not hold the information requested.

Further Education: Student Numbers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils entered further education after completing GCSEs in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) each region and  (c) each London borough in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The figures in this answer are for all 16-year-olds, there is no information solely on those that have completed their GCSE qualifications.
	 (a) The following table gives the number and percentage of 16-year-olds in England participating in full-time education at a sixth-form college, further education college, at school or in a higher education institute. The latest year for which data are available is end 2005.
	
		
			  16-year-olds participating in full-time education by institution type, England 2001-05 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  
			   No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  %  No.  % 
			 Sixth-form college 61,000 9.6 62,700 9.9 65,300 10.1 69,200 10.4 71,000 10.9 
			 Other further education colleges 166,400 26.3 166,800 26.4 171,700 26.5 183,400 27.6 191,200 29.3 
			 Schools 218,900 34.5 222,800 35.3 227,900 35.2 235,500 35.4 235,300 36.0 
			 Higher education 1,700 0.3 2,000 0.3 1,800 0.3 2,300 0.3 2,300 0.4 
			 Total 447,900 70.7 454,400 71.9 466,600 72.0 490,300 73.8 499,900 76.5 
		
	
	The Department does not hold figures for Wales.
	 (b) The attached table  (b) gives the number and percentage of 16-year-olds in the regions of England participating in full-time education at a sixth-form college, further education college, or school. The latest year for which data are available is end 2004.
	 (c) The following table  (c) gives the number and percentage of 16-year-olds resident in each outer London authority participating in full-time education at a sixth form college, further education college or school. The latest year for which data are available is end 2004.
	Participation estimates for inner London LEAs are not given due to the high level of cross-boundary flows of independent school students between LEAs.
	
		
			  (b) Participation in education and training of 16-year-olds by type of institution, by region in England 2000-04 
			  Number 
			   Full-time education  Percentage 
			   Maintained schools  Independent schools  Sixth- form college  Other FE  Total  Maintained schools  Independent schools  Sixth- form college  Other FE  Total 
			  End 2004   
			 North East 8,500 1,400 3,300 10,600 23,800 25 4 10 31 69 
			 North West 19,800 3,700 15,800 27,500 66,800 21 4 17 29 70 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 18,700 2,300 7,400 18,000 46,500 27 3 11 26 67 
			 East Midlands 18,900 2,900 2,800 15,800 40,400 33 5 5 27 70 
			 West Midlands 19,900 3,600 7,500 21,600 52,600 27 5 10 29 71 
			 East of England 24,700 4,300 6,700 18,200 53,800 34 6 9 25 75 
			 London 31,700 8,000 8,800 23,100 71,600 35 9 10 26 79 
			 South East 31,400 9,800 15,300 26,200 82,700 29 9 14 25 77 
			 South West 20,500 5,100 1,500 22,600 49,800 31 8 2 34 75 
			
			  End 2003   
			 North East 8,600 1,200 3,000 10,200 23,000 25 4 9 30 67 
			 North West 18,900 3,800 15,200 26,100 64,000 20 4 16 28 69 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 18,300 2,300 6,500 17,600 44,700 27 3 10 26 66 
			 East Midlands 18,300 2,800 2,600 14,400 38,200 33 5 5 26 69 
			 West Midlands 19,600 3,600 7,100 20,300 50,600 27 5 10 28 70 
			 East of England 23,300 4,100 6,600 16,800 50,800 34 6 10 24 73 
			 London 30,200 7,600 8,600 22,200 68,600 34 9 10 25 78 
			 South East 31,000 9,400 14,300 24,000 78,600 30 9 14 23 77 
			 South West 19,500 5,300 1,400 21,100 47,300 31 8 2 33 74 
			
			  End 2002   
			 North East 8,300 1,300 3,000 10,100 22,700 24 4 9 29 66 
			 North West 18,800 3,800 14,400 26,300 63,300 20 4 16 28 68 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 17,900 2,400 6,100 17,600 43,900 27 4 9 27 66 
			 East Midlands 17,800 2,800 2,700 14,200 37,500 33 5 5 26 69 
			 West Midlands 19,200 3,600 7,100 19,200 49,200 27 5 10 27 69 
			 East of England 23,400 4,200 6,300 15,600 49,500 35 6 9 23 74 
			 London 28,300 7,200 8,200 22,100 65,800 33 8 10 26 77 
			 South East 30,200 9,600 13,700 22,300 75,800 30 10 14 22 76 
			 South West 19,100 5,200 1,200 20,400 45,900 31 8 2 33 75 
			
			  End 2001   
			 North East 8,400 1,300 2,900 10,400 23,000 25 4 9 30 67 
			 North West 18,600 3,900 14,300 25,600 62,400 20 4 15 28 67 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 17,900 2,400 6,100 17,500 43,900 27 4 9 27 67 
			 East Midlands 17,400 2,700 2,600 14,200 36,900 32 5 5 26 69 
			 West Midlands 19,100 3,500 7,100 19,100 48,800 27 5 10 27 69 
			 East of England 23,500 4,100 5,900 15,200 48,800 35 6 9 23 72 
			 London 28,200 6,900 7,800 21,900 64,800 33 8 9 25 75 
			 South East 29,700 9,600 13,000 22,800 75,200 29 10 13 23 74 
			 South West 18,700 5,100 1,200 20,400 45,300 31 8 2 33 74 
			
			  End 2000   
			 North East 7,900 1,200 3,000 9,600 21,700 24 4 9 29 66 
			 North West 18,200 3,600 13,500 24,600 59,900 20 4 15 28 67 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 17,100 2,300 5,700 16,800 41,800 27 4 9 27 67 
			 East Midlands 17,200 2,500 2,200 13,000 34,900 33 5 4 25 68 
			 West Midlands 18,100 3,400 6,900 18,400 46,700 27 5 10 27 69 
			 East of England 22,700 4,000 5,700 15,400 47,700 35 6 9 24 73 
			 London 26,100 6,700 7,300 21,000 61,100 32 8 9 26 74 
			 South East 28,700 9,300 11,700 22,200 71,900 30 10 12 23 74 
			 South West 18,200 5,000 1,100 19,400 43,700 31 8 2 33 74 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Participation in education and training of 16-year-olds by type of institution, by London local authority, 2000-04 
			  Number 
			   Full-time education  Percentage 
			   Maintained schools  Independent schools  Sixth-form college  Other FE  Total  Maintained schools  Independent schools  Sixth-form college  Other FE  Total 
			  End 2004   
			 Inner London 7,800 3,700 3,900 8,700 24,100 24 12 12 27 75 
			 Outer London 23,800 4,300 4,900 14,500 47,600 41 7 8 25 82 
			 Barking and Dagenham 900  100 500 1,600 43 0 4 25 73 
			 Barnet 1,800 500 300 700 3,300 44 13 7 18 82 
			 Bexley 1,500 100  800 2,300 48 2 1 25 76 
			 Brent 1,600 100 200 900 2,800 46 4 5 26 81 
			 Bromley 2,100 300 100 600 3,100 58 8 2 17 84 
			 Croydon 1,200 700 1,000 1,100 3,900 25 15 22 24 85 
			 Ealing 1,500 300 100 1,200 3,100 40 9 2 31 82 
			 Enfield 2,000  100 900 3,100 53 1 4 25 83 
			 Greenwich 1,400 200 100 600 2,300 48 5 5 20 78 
			 Harrow 800 500 300 1,300 2,800 23 14 8 38 83 
			 Havering 600  900 900 2,400 21 1 29 28 78 
			 Hillingdon 1,600 200  800 2,700 49 7 1 24 82 
			 Hounslow 1,300 100 100 700 2,200 46 2 4 27 79 
			 Kingston upon Thames 900 200 100 300 1,500 48 12 7 15 83 
			 Merton 600 200 200 600 1,600 28 10 9 27 75 
			 Redbridge 2,100 100 100 700 3,000 61 3 4 20 88 
			 Richmond upon Thames 200 600 300 600 1,700 11 29 13 33 87 
			 Sutton 1,300 100 100 500 1,900 51 3 3 20 77 
			 Waltham Forest 600 100 900 800 2,400 23 5 31 28 88 
			
			  End 2003   
			 Inner London 7,700 3,400 3,800 8,500 23,400 24 11 12 27 74 
			 Outer London 22,600 4,100 4,800 13,600 45,200 40 7 9 24 80 
			 Barking and Dagenham 900  100 500 1,500 41 0 5 26 71 
			 Barnet 1,800 400 200 700 3,200 46 11 6 17 79 
			 Bexley 1,400 100  700 2,200 48 2 1 25 76 
			 Brent 1,700 100 200 900 2,800 50 3 5 26 84 
			 Bromley 1,900 300  500 2,800 52 8 1 15 76 
			 Croydon 1,000 700 900 1,000 3,600 22 15 20 21 78 
			 Ealing 1,700 300 100 1,100 3,100 43 9 2 28 82 
			 Enfield 1,900  200 1,000 3,000 51 1 4 27 83 
			 Greenwich 1,200 200 200 600 2,100 41 6 5 21 73 
			 Harrow 700 400 300 1,200 2,600 24 14 9 38 86 
			 Havering 600  800 700 2,200 22 1 29 25 78 
			 Hillingdon 1,400 200  800 2,400 44 6 1 26 78 
			 Hounslow 1,300 100 100 600 2,000 45 2 4 23 74 
			 Kingston upon Thames 800 200 100 300 1,400 47 13 8 16 83 
			 Merton 600 300 200 600 1,700 26 12 12 29 79 
			 Redbridge 2,000 100 100 600 2,800 61 4 3 19 88 
			 Richmond upon Thames 200 600 200 600 1,600 10 31 13 35 88 
			 Sutton 1,200 100 100 400 1,800 51 4 4 19 78 
			 Waltham Forest 600 100 900 700 2,300 21 5 32 27 84 
			
			  End 2002   
			 Inner London 7,000 3,400 3,600 8,900 22,900 23 11 12 30 76 
			 Outer London 21,300 3,800 4,600 13,200 42,900 39 7 8 24 78 
			 Barking and Dagenham 800  100 500 1,400 37 0 4 21 63 
			 Barnet 1,800 400 300 600 3,100 48 10 7 16 80 
			 Bexley 1,200   700 2,000 43 1 1 25 70 
			 Brent 1,700  200 900 2,800 50 1 5 27 82 
			 Bromley 1,900 300  600 2,800 55 8 1 16 81 
			 Croydon 900 700 1,000 900 3,500 20 16 23 21 80 
			 Ealing 1,500 300 100 1,000 2,900 39 8 1 27 76 
			 Enfield 1,600  100 1,000 2,700 47 0 3 28 78 
			 Greenwich 1,100 100 100 600 1,900 39 5 5 22 70 
			 Harrow 700 400 300 1,100 2,500 25 14 11 37 86 
			 Havering 600  800 700 2,100 20 0 30 24 73 
			 Hillingdon 1,400 200  700 2,300 47 6 1 24 78 
			 Hounslow 1,200  100 700 2,000 43 1 3 25 73 
			 Kingston upon Thames 700 200 200 300 1,400 40 12 9 19 81 
			 Merton 500 200 200 600 1,500 25 11 9 29 74 
			 Redbridge 1,800 100 100 600 2,600 58 4 3 19 83 
			 Richmond upon Thames 200 500 200 600 1,500 9 32 10 38 90 
			 Sutton 1,100 100 100 400 1,700 51 4 4 20 79 
			 Waltham Forest 600 100 800 700 2,300 22 5 31 26 83 
			
			  End 2001   
			 Inner London 7,200 3,300 3,300 8,600 22,400 24 11 11 28 73 
			 Outer London 20,900 3,700 4,500 13,300 42,400 38 7 8 24 76 
			 Barking and Dagenham 800  100 400 1,300 34 0 3 19 56 
			 Barnet 1,700 400 200 700 3,000 43 10 6 18 77 
			 Bexley 1,200   800 2,000 41 0 1 26 69 
			 Brent 1,600  200 1,000 2,700 45 0 5 28 79 
			 Bromley 1,800 300  600 2,700 53 8 1 17 78 
			 Croydon 800 600 1,000 900 3,300 19 15 23 20 77 
			 Ealing 1,500 300 100 1,000 2,900 40 7 2 27 76 
			 Enfield 1,800  100 900 2,800 49 0 2 25 76 
			 Greenwich 1,000 200 100 600 1,900 37 6 5 21 68 
			 Harrow 700 400 300 1,100 2,500 23 15 10 38 85 
			 Havering 600  800 700 2,100 19 0 28 24 71 
			 Hillingdon 1,400 200  700 2,300 47 6 0 23 76 
			 Hounslow 1,200  100 700 2,000 43 1 3 24 71 
			 Kingston upon Thames 700 200 100 300 1,300 40 12 8 20 80 
			 Merton 500 200 200 600 1,500 24 11 8 28 71 
			 Redbridge 1,800 100 100 600 2,600 56 4 3 18 82 
			 Richmond upon Thames 200 500 200 700 1,500 10 31 11 40 93 
			 Sutton 1,100 100 100 400 1,700 51 3 4 19 77 
			 Waltham Forest 600 100 800 600 2,200 22 5 29 23 79 
			  End 2000   
			 Inner London 6,500 3,100 3,000 8,200 20,800 22 11 10 28 72 
			 Outer London 19,600 3,600 4,300 12,700 40,300 37 7 8 24 76 
			 Barking and Dagenham 800  100 400 1,300 37 0 3 21 62 
			 Barnet 1,900 300 200 600 3,100 52 9 6 17 85 
			 Bexley 1,100   700 1,900 43 0 1 27 71 
			 Brent 1,300  200 800 2,300 38 1 5 25 69 
			 Bromley 2,000 200  500 2,700 61 7 1 14 83 
			 Croydon 400 900 1,000 800 3,100 9 20 24 19 71 
			 Ealing 1,100 300 100 1,100 2,400 30 7 2 30 69 
			 Enfield 1,700  100 900 2,700 51 0 3 26 79 
			 Greenwich 900 100 100 600 1,700 33 4 5 22 64 
			 Harrow  400 300 1,100 1,800 1 13 11 40 66 
			 Havering 500  800 700 1,900 18 0 27 25 70 
			 Hillingdon 1,400 200  700 2,300 50 7 1 23 81 
			 Hounslow 1,500  100 700 2,300 56 1 3 25 85 
			 Kingston upon Thames  * * * * * 
			 Merton 300 200 200 600 1,300 14 12 10 32 68 
			 Redbridge  * * * * * 
			 Richmond upon Thames  500 100 600 1,200 1 31 8 38 77 
			 Sutton  * * * * * 
			 Waltham Forest 400 100 700 700 1,900 13 4 26 25 69

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average expenditure per pupil was in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary education in (i) each region and (ii) each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The available information has been placed in the House Library.

School Leaving: Employment

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in each of the regions who left school in 2006  (a) have secured full-time employment,  (b) have secured part-time employment,  (c) are on a training scheme and  (d) are unemployed.

Jim Knight: The following table gives the number and percentage of 16-year-olds by region, who have finished compulsory education who are (a) in employment, (b) on a Government-supported training scheme, and (c) not settled.
	
		
			  Activity of 16-year-olds, by region, November 2006 
			   Number  Percentage 
			   (a) Full-time employment  (b) Government-supported training  (c) Not settled  (a) Full-time employment  (b) Government-supported training  (c) Not settled 
			 North East 1,630 3,040 3,100 5.4 8.7 10.1 
			 North West 5,620 7,550 7,680 5.2 10.3 10.9 
			 Yorks and the Humber 4,770 4,890 5,740 7.9 5.6 9.2 
			 East Midlands 4,330 3,300 4,320 7.3 7.4 8.7 
			 West Midlands 4,150 4,390 5,360 8.7 4.3 5.4 
			 East of England 5,090 2,640 4,600 6.9 5.6 6.5 
			 London 2,230 2,300 4,920 6.1 4.3 6.7 
			 South East 5,170 3,470 6,350 7.2 4.4 5.5 
			 South West 4,290 3,480 4,070 6.3 7.8 7.7 
			 England 37,290 35,050 46,130 8.6 5.8 6.7 
		
	
	The figures relate to the activity of schools leavers on 1 November 2006, and are for all 16-year-olds resident in that region who have finished compulsory education.
	Those in part-time employment and unemployed cannot be separated out. They are in the 'not settled' group which includes: all unemployed, those in part-time employment or training, those who are not available to the labour market, refugees and asylum seekers not yet granted residency and those in custodial sentence.

School Sports Partnerships

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what level of funding will be available to school sport partnerships beyond 2008;
	(2)  what advice the Youth Sports Trust will provide to schools about school sport partnerships beyond 2008.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 April 2007
	The Department for Education and Skill's Comprehensive Spending Review settlement is currently being reviewed by the Secretary of State.
	The ambition is that by 2010, all young people will be offered at least four hours of sport every week. This will comprise at least two hours of PE and sport during the school day and at least an additional two to three hours of sport beyond the school day (delivered by a range of school, community and club providers). The Youth Sport trust will continue to support school sport partnershipswhich include every maintained school in England to achieve this.

Schools: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department has taken to improve the performance of schools in the London Borough of Sutton since 1997.

Jim Knight: Schools in the London borough of Sutton have achieved a substantial rise in standards across all Key Stages since 1997 and performance levels are well above the national average. The proportion of 11-year-olds reaching the target level 4+ as measured by the National Curriculum tests for 2006 has risen by 13 percentage points to 83 per cent. in English and by 13 percentage points to 79 per cent. in mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalents has improved by 15.8 percentage points to 70.5 per cent. in 2006. The proportion of pupils achieving five A*-C grades including GCSE English and mathematics has also improved by 15.4 percentage points to 62.7 per cent. in 2006.
	Since 1997 four schools only in Sutton have been in special measures and there are currently no schools in an Ofsted category.
	The Government's London Challenge programme and the National Strategies have worked with Sutton to improve school performance. In addition to support through the Standards Fund for literacy and numeracy consultants to work directly with schools to improve teaching and learning in the core subjects and targeted National Strategies support for teaching materials and teachers' continuing professional development, Sutton has received:
	Direct support for two schools through the Keys to Success programme; providing access to expert advice from a London Challenge Adviser to help prioritise areas for improvement and put together bespoke improvement packages.
	Access to an expert adviser for four schools as part of the London Challenge underperformance collaborative to improve borderline students' performance at GCSE.
	Inclusion of one school in the English and Maths Challenge initiative to improve standards in English and mathematics in target secondary schools.
	Taking part in a London Challenge ICT project to help schools develop their ICT strategies further based on their priorities for school improvement.
	Around 1,350 teachers have registered as working towards Chartered London Teacher status in Sutton Schools.
	Sutton schools have also benefited from:
	KS2-3 transition projects.
	Student Pledgeopportunities for London students to gain a variety of rich experiences out of school.
	The Training and Development Agency has worked with Sutton to support the roll out of extended schools in their area. Sutton has received 2.2 million over the period 2005-08 to take forward this work which will support pupils achieve their full potential by providing access through schools to services such as study support, parenting support programmes, child care, and links to multi agency support.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what alterations were made to the secondary curriculum programmes of study and level descriptions produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) secondary curriculum review between their approval by the QCA board on 14 December 2006 and their publication.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 April 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 April 2007.

Teachers: Pensions

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many stakeholders were consulted during the formal consultation with stakeholder representatives on the Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme between November 2005 and February 2006;
	(2)  how the stakeholders consulted during the formal consultation on Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme were selected;
	(3)  what steps were taken to ensure that stakeholders with a relevant interest were consulted during formal consultations on the Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme; and how many scheme members were consulted;
	(4)  what conclusions the Department has drawn from the responses given by members of the Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme to formal consultation on changes to the scheme;
	(5)  what estimates he has made of the cost of consulting members of the Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme on the proposed changes to the scheme, broken down by main budget heading;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing the flexibilities permitted by A-Day regulations in relation to the Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme;
	(7)  if his Department will undertake further consultations of the membership of the Teacher's Additional Voluntary Contribution Pension Scheme following changes introduced by A-Day regulations.

Jim Knight: The consultation on amendments to the Teachers' Additional Voluntary Contribution (TAVC) arrangements was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Superannuation Act 1972. Consultees included teacher and lecturer unions, representatives of employer organisations and a wide range of other interested parties, including the managers of other public service pension schemes. The official consultation list contained 86 different organisations at the time of the A-Day changes and the consultation was also placed on the TeacherNet website with an invitation to any individual to respond. From the responses received, the Department concluded that the revised arrangements for the Teachers' Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme are currently appropriate for the teaching/lecturing workforce, although, as a matter of course, any further possible changes that could appropriately be introduced are noted for inclusion in a subsequent set of amending regulations.
	No estimate of the cost of any Teachers' Pension Scheme consultation has been made. Nor have our TAVC providers, Prudential, estimated the costs to them of the implementation of A-Day flexibilities, although they will have incurred some administrative costs. Prudential has not sought to recoup any of these costs from members through any change to the annual management charge that is applied to TAVC contracts. The only exception, because of the significant amount of extra work involved, has been to apply an administration fee to cover costs to process transfers-out of accumulated funds independently from the main scheme for those who have had service after A-Day, although this has affected relatively few members.
	In addition to the A-Day amending regulations, the Teachers' Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme has recently been further amended as part of a major review of the teachers' pension package. Both sets of regulations were subject to wide consultation and received overwhelming support from those who responded. All mandatory changes to the IPS required by A-Day legislation have been implemented and there are no plans to undertake another specific A-Day consultation. However a regulatory consolidation exercise is under way which will result in a further consultation taking place within the next 12 months or so. It is not possible to say at this stage whether further permissive changes arising from A-Day legislation will be included within that consultation.

Written Questions

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to answer Question  (a) 126831 and  (b) 126832, on GCSEs, tabled on 7 March by the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

Jim Knight: A reply was issued to the hon. Member's questions 126831 on 17 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 548-49W and to 126832 on 17 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 549-52W.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business: EC Action

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support is provided by the European Union to UK representative business groups; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: There is no specific allocation in the EU budget for supporting national representative business groups, and we are not aware that the EU has provided any significant financial support to such organisations. It is possible that individual UK business organisations may have benefited from EU grants to support specific activities but such details could be established only at disproportionate cost.

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Internet

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding is available to trading standards officers to help combat internet piracy.

Ian McCartney: The funding and resourcing of trading standards is determined by their respective local authority. This will cover the enforcement of a wide range of legislation some of which aims to combat internet piracy.
	Additional funding of 4.86 million (4.191 million in England, 0.423 million in Scotland and 0.246 million in Wales) has been made available in 2007-8 for trading standards officers to accompany the commencement of s107a and s198a of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act. These new powers relate to counterfeiting and piracy enforcement both physical and on the internet.
	In addition, funding of 895,000 a year for two years in 2006-07 and 2007-08 is available to pilot specialist scambuster teams to work across local authority boundaries within a region targeting the worse rogue trading practices and scams which are often beyond the capacity of an individual local authority to deal with. Pilots are running in the north east, central England and across south east, east and London. The pilots will target different rogue trading practices depending on intelligence received and regional priorities, this may include those using the internet to defraud business and consumers.
	A further 1.2 million is available over two years in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to Trading Standards to fund a regional intelligence capability to help use intelligence to inform enforcement activity.

Economic Partnership Agreements

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking in negotiations with EU countries on the scope of matters introduced in economic partnership agreements with southern countries which do not have the support of those countries.

Ian McCartney: The UK believes that well-designed EPAs can promote long-term development, economic growth and poverty reduction in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. We recognise the importance of these agreements and have taken a strong, proactive approach in discussions within the European Union, drawing on the principles set out in the joint DTI/DFID Position Paper of March 2005, including ensuring that ACP countries have flexibility and choice over the content of the agreements.
	The recent informal EUACP development minister meeting was productive and cause for optimism. ACP countries made firm their commitment to complete EPAs this year. DTI in conjunction with DFID will continue to support the ACP in every way possible to make sure that well designed EPAs are finalised this year. I am increasingly confident that this is within our grasp.

Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which organisations and individuals have been consulted in the preparation of the forthcoming Energy White Paper; and if he will list the documents, including websites, which have been used in the preparation of the White Paper.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government are taking forward development of the policy proposals set out in the Energy Review Report in preparation for the 2007 Energy White Paper, which will be published in May.
	A wide range of information and evidence, formal and informal discussions with interested parties, as well as a number of public consultations, have been a key part of informing the energy review process. The issues on which we have consulted, summaries of engagement activities and formal consultation responses can be found on the DTI website at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/review/page31995.html.
	Alongside the White Paper we will be publishing a number of the reports and documents that helped inform our proposals.

Energy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the changes in planning law which are being proposed in respect of energy schemes arising from the Energy Review 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: We expect to publish the Energy White Paper in May which will cover our proposals on the planning arrangements for energy infrastructure.

Estate Agents: Complaints

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many complaints about the conduct of estate agents were received by the Office of Fair Trading in 2006; and how many investigations were conducted as a result;
	(2)  how many Office of Fair Trading investigations following complaints against estate agents in 2006 resulted in fines being payable; and what the total amount of fines levied was.

Ian McCartney: In 2006, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received 210 complaints about the conduct of estate agents. As a result of the complaints received, 117 investigations were carried out into estate agent activities by the OFT in 2006.
	The OFT did not prosecute any estate agents for offences under the Estate Agents Act in 2006. This is because there are very few criminal offences associated with the Act. The most serious acts of misconduct by estate agents are instead dealt with by banning the individual concerned from being able to engage in estate agency work. This is the most effective means of protecting consumers.
	In 2006, the OFT issued three warning orders and five prohibition orders under the Estate Agents Act 1979. In addition, it obtained four undertakings from estate agents under part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002, and it also issued 63 advisory or warning letters.
	The use of informal actions, such as advisory or warning letters, alongside the formal powers reflects the need for responsible and proportionate enforcement. Formal action against estate agents involves banning them, or threatening to ban them, from estate agency work. Formal action can therefore have significant repercussions in that it can take away an individual's livelihood. Parliament has therefore necessarily made the burden of evidential proof substantial and such action would only be taken in the limited number of cases where the most serious instances of misconduct are not only identified, but clearly established, and where the agent's fitness to continue in estate agency work is seriously called into question.

Estate Agents: Complaints

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many notices of warning under the Estate Agents Act 1979 were issued by the Office of Fair Trading in 2006;
	(2)  how many notices of prohibition under the Estate Agents Act 1979 were issued by the Office of Fair Trading in 2006.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 17 April 2007
	 I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her today to question numbers 131784 and 131785.

Fuel Poverty

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what indexes he uses to measure the impact of Government policy on fuel poverty.

Malcolm Wicks: A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10 per cent. of its income on fuel to maintain a satisfactory heating regime (usually 21(o)C for the main living area and 18(o)C for other occupied rooms). Figures for the number of households in fuel poverty in England are produced from analysis of the English House Condition Survey and published annually alongside figures from the Devolved Administrations in the UK Fuel Poverty Annual Progress Report.
	In addition to the total number of households in fuel poverty, the English House Condition Survey is used to give detailed breakdowns of households in fuel poverty. The individual data records from the survey are also used for further analysis to assess the effectiveness of current policy and the impact of possible future policy options.
	Government also actively reviews the assistance provided by the warm front scheme, the main programme designed to tackle fuel poverty in England, to ensure it is as effective as possible in reducing fuel poverty. A number of steps were taken to increase the impact of the scheme in 2005 including an increase in grant maxima and a wider provision of gas central heating. All actions are laid out in the Fuel Poverty Action Plan, published in 2004.

Medical Research Council

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  to what extent preferences shown by members of the public may influence the research priorities set by the Medical Research Council;
	(2)  what  (a) process and  (b) decision-making criteria will be used to set research funding priorities for the Medical Research Council in each of the next three years; and what the timetable is for the setting of those priorities in each year.

Malcolm Wicks: The MRC will set its research priorities for the three years from 2008-09 to 2010-11 building upon its extensive consultation with stakeholders, including the research community, other Research Councils, Government Departments, the national health service (NHS), industry and the public. The detailed research priorities will be developed by the MRC's research boards and, where appropriate, involving the Office of Strategic Coordination of Health Research (OSCHR), and will be finalised once the MRC's allocation from the Science Budget is known.
	The decision-making criteria include scientific opportunity, the impact of research on improving human health, the tractability of the area, the potential for exploitation, and opportunities for research training.
	The timetable covers:
	When the science budget allocation to the MRC from CSR 2007 is made, the MRC will prepare a strategic plan for the four years 2008-09 to 2011-12. This is likely to be published towards the end of 2007 or early in 2008.
	Priorities will continue to be reviewed during the next three years as described. Future MRC delivery plans will be published in April/May of each year. Any new priorities that arise in-between times will be announced on the MRC website.
	The MRC has a range of longstanding mechanisms to sustain dialogue with the general public, to capture and use public opinion and attitudes in developing research priorities, corporate and communications objectives. These include a requirement of a lay representation on the steering committees, public and patient involvement in numerous committees, workshops and panels. The MRC also holds annual public meetings. In addition, the MRC has a programme of public consultations, often in collaboration with other research councils under the RCUK banner, which allow MRC to gauge public attitudes to, awareness and expectations of the research areas and some examples include the use of animals in research; research using human embryos; ageing research; and the use of personal health information for research.
	The MRC set up in 2000 a consumer liaison group for developing public and patient involvement, which became the Advisory Group on Public Involvement in 2003. The MRC is currently developing a public panel that would assist the setting up a network of lay experts.

Mining: Compensation

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to ensure that the arrangements governing the payment of compensation payments to former miners minimises the cost of processing overheads.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department continually strives to achieve efficiency savings in the cost of running the schemes. For example, we have recently had some success in our appeal of the respiratory disease fast-track solicitors cost. This ruling will result in an estimated 99 million saving.
	The fast-track process for respiratory disease claims should reduce claims processing costs by 150 million and shorten the scheme by two years.
	A programme of efficiency improvements at the Department's claims handlers, Capita, saved 12m during 2005 and is estimated to have saved an additional 6m since.
	The National Audit Office is also carrying out a value for money review of the Department's administration of the coal health compensation schemes. The report is anticipated during the summer.

Packaging

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to minimise the generation of packaging for consumer goods including food.

Malcolm Wicks: The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended) require that packaging volume and weight must be the minimum adequate amount to maintain necessary levels of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer. As regards to discussions with producers of packaging, I refer to the reply given by my noble Friend the Minister for Energy in another place on 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column WA117.

Post Offices: ICT

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the Horizon computer system used by the Post Office; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend has received no recent formal representations about Post Office Ltd.'s Horizon computer system but the Department does occasionally receive correspondence about technical problems with the Horizon system at individual offices. Operational responsibility for Horizon rests with Post Office Ltd.

Public Holidays

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make St. George's Day a bank holiday in England.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The present pattern of bank holidays in the United Kingdom is well established and accepted, and the Government have no plans to change the arrangements.

Public Holidays: EC Action

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with his European Union counterparts concerning harmonising the number of bank holidays taken each year in member states; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Public holidays throughout the European Union reflect the different histories and traditions of the countries concerned and vary from country to country.
	The European Union average is 11 days and in some member states, for example Germany, entitlement to time off for a bank holiday is lost, if it falls at a weekend. In the United Kingdom if it falls at a weekend we have an alternative day off.
	The present pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and accepted, and the Government have no current plans to change the arrangements or to discuss harmonisation with the member states.
	However because some employers currently include the eight bank holidays as part of workers' statutory 20-day annual leave entitlement, we intend to make time off for bank holidays additional to this entitlement.

Regional Development Agencies

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Holland and the Deepings of 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 738W, on regional development agencies, what the addresses are of each of the regional development agencies' overseas offices.

Margaret Hodge: The following list shows the addresses of the Regional Development Agencies' overseas offices.
	 Advantage West Midlands
	The British MidlandsAustralia Office
	Unit 4, 7 Newry Street
	Richmond
	Victoria 3121
	Australia
	Oudergemselaan 22-28
	Avenue d'Auderghem
	B-1040 Brussels
	Belgium
	33, Avenue du Maine
	Tour Montparnasse
	75755 Paris Cedex 15
	France
	Im Dornenhau 29
	50129 Bergheim
	Germany
	The British MidlandsIndia Office
	4DB, Edena Building, 4th Floor,
	97, Maharshi Karve Road,
	Mumbai 400020
	India
	The British MidlandsJapan Office
	Kishimoto Building 3F
	311A2 - 1 Marunouchi
	2 Chome, Chiyoda-ku
	Tokyo 100-0005
	Japan
	Advantage West Midlands,
	World Trade Centre,
	Kungsbron 1 ,
	Box 703 96,
	S-107 24 Stockholm
	Sweden
	Eastern USA
	225 Franklin Street
	26th Floor
	Boston MA 02110
	USA
	Southeast and Southwest USA
	11951 Freedom Drive
	13th Floor
	Reston, VA20190
	USA
	Central USA
	Civic Opera Building
	20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 930
	Chicago, IL 60606
	USA
	West Coast USA
	95 South Market Street
	Suite 300
	San Jose CA 95113,
	USA
	 East England Development Agency
	The USA office has closed
	 East Midlands Development Agency
	DS Consulting GmbH
	Mangstrasse 29
	80997 Munich Bavaria
	Germany
	Breeze Strategy (France)
	52 rue du Roi de Sicile
	Paris 75004
	France
	Lars Weibull AB
	Rundelen 3
	SE-21136
	Malmo
	Sweden
	Shared offices with Advantage West Midlands in Australia, India, Japan and USA
	 London Development Agency
	Unit 9
	11/F Cl
	Oriental Plaza,
	No.l East Chang An Street
	East City District
	Beijing
	P.R. China
	 North West Development Agency
	North of England Inward Investment Agency
	118 Victoria Road,
	Rozelle NSW 2039
	Australia
	The North of England Japan Office
	Renai Partire Shiodome 5F, 2-18-3,
	Higashi Shimbashi,
	Minato-ku,
	Tokyo 105-0021
	USA North of England Inward Investment Agency
	3455 Peachtree Rd,
	Atlanta, GA 30326
	USA
	(office shared with One North East)
	 One North East
	4th Floor BR Shinagawa, 2 Building
	10-6, Kita-Shinagawa,
	1-Chome
	Shinagawa-ku
	Tokyo 140-0001,
	JAPAN
	The North of England Office
	The North of England II A
	444 North Michigan Avenue
	Suite 3350
	Chicago IL 606 11
	USA
	There is no physical office in Norway. Staff travel extensively in Norway but are based in the UK.
	Unit 1908 A,
	1038 Nanjing West Road
	Westgate Tower
	Shanghai 200041
	China
	The North of England Office
	3455 Peachtree Road
	Suite 536
	Atlanta GA 30326
	USA
	There is no physical office in Germany. Staff travel extensively in Germany but are based in the UK.
	Room 601
	Dongkyung Building 8245-19
	Yeosam-dong
	Kangnam Ku
	Seoul 135934
	KOREA
	The North of England Office
	4695 MacArthur Court
	Suite 1100, llth Floor
	Newport Beach
	California 92660
	USA
	118 Victoria Road
	Rozelle
	NSW 2039
	Australia
	 South East England Development Agency
	180a Warringah Road,
	Beacon Hill,
	NSW 2100,
	Australia
	SEEDA Business
	Information Centre
	Trade and Industry Centre Building
	2 Yamashita-cho
	Naka-ku
	Yokohama,
	Japan
	200 S Wacker Drive
	Suite 3100
	Chicago, IL 60606
	USA
	Suite 1620
	New Town Centre
	83 Loushanguan Road
	Shanghai 200336,
	China
	SEEDA no longer has a representative in Korea
	580 Harrison Avenue
	4th floor
	Boston
	MA 02118
	USA
	*24 Rue du Vieux
	78000 Versailles
	Versailles
	France
	200 Page Mill Rd
	Suite 200
	Palo Alto
	CA 94306 - 2022
	USA
	600 Anton Blvd
	llth Floor
	Costa Mesa
	CA 92626
	USA
	 South West of England Development Agency
	Room 317, 3/F,
	C-l Shenzhen Hi-tech Industry Park
	Shenzhen
	P.R China
	518057
	Nishiyamakogyo-Akasaka Bldg,
	2-15-18-403, Akasaka,
	Minato-ku,
	Tokyo 107-0052,
	Japan
	Australian operation delivered via a consultancy and all USA based staff are home-workers in California and Massachusetts.
	 Yorkshire Forward
	North of England Australia Office
	118 Victoria Road
	Rozelle
	NSW 2039
	Australia
	Yorkshire Forward China Office
	A-809,Zhejiang World Trade Centre
	122 Shuguang Road
	Hangzhou 310007
	P.R. China
	North of England Japan Office
	5F, Renai Partire Shiodome
	2-18-3 Higashi Shimbashi
	Minato-ku
	Tokyo 105-0021
	Japan
	The North America offices in partnership with One North East and NWDA have been terminated by Yorkshire Forward.

Renewable Energy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of administration for micro-energy producers who wish to sell energy to the National Grid; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Climate Change and Sustainability Act 2006 gives the Government the power to modify supply licences to ensure that energy suppliers offer to acquire electricity generated by microgenerators. These powers come into being in August 2007 and the Government intend to make use of these powers, subject to appropriate consultation, if the energy suppliers do not appear to be moving in this direction.
	In the 2007 Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor asked OFGEM to examine how homes that generate more electricity than they consume can benefit more from exporting electricity back to the network.

Research Councils: Finance

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the announcements in the Budget about science funding, what funds are to be made available to the research councils for research funding in each of the next four years.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 20 April 2007
	 The Research Councils allocation from the science budget for 2007-08 totals 2.8 billion. This is set out in the allocations booklet Science Budget allocations 2005-06 to 2007-08 and can be found at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file14994.pdf
	On 21 March the Budget 2007 announced the CSR07 settlement for the Science budget for the three years 2008-09 to 2010-11. Decisions on the individual allocations to Research Councils and other science budget programmes for these years have not yet been made.

Seals: EC Action

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with European Union colleagues on a ban on the importation of  (a) harp and  (b) hooded seal products into the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: I have jointly written with my hon. Friend, the Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, to Commissioner Dimas, the EU Commissioner for the Environment urging him to extend the current EU-wide ban on listed products of Harp and Hooded seal pups to seals of all ages. We have also written to our Trade and Agricultural Ministerial counterparts in EU member states requesting their support. This has been followed up by Embassy officials. Support so far has been encouraging with very few member states opposing our request.

Small Businesses: Greater London

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to improve the competitiveness of small retail businesses in London; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Responsibility for improving the competitiveness of small businesses in London has been largely devolved to the London Development Agency.
	The LDA through funding from the DTI pursues regional economic development and regeneration to reduce economic imbalances and improve competitiveness as well as providing publicly funded business support through Business Link. Small retailers are eligible for the same range of support measures as other small businesses.
	The DTI Retail Unit also works with the sector to raise its productivity and improve its competitiveness by facilitating better regulation, incentivising innovation and encouraging good practice in areas such as skills, employment, international trade and environmental sustainability.

Stem Cells: Research

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the evidential basis was for the statement made by Sir David King at a public seminar organised by the Science and Technology Committee that extracting stem cells from human-animal hybrid embryos would enable scientists to learn more about diseases such as Alzheimer's; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Because of their ability to differentiate into different cells and tissues, it is generally recognised by the scientific community that stem cells hold potential for the development of new cellular based treatments for diseases and injuries such as spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart tissue damaged after a heart attack.
	The Government's position is that if we are to find treatments and cures for currently unbeatable diseases, it is important that we do not unnecessarily restrict research avenues that might enable us to learn more about the development of stem cells. Such research must be carried out within a suitable regulatory framework that results from an open debate with the public and the research community and commands broad public support. We welcome the Science and Technology Committee's contribution to this conversation.
	As Sir David King is an independent chief scientific advisor, the hon. Member for Southend,West may wish to write to him to seek further information regarding his discussion at the seminar.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in London are considering reconfiguration of accident and emergency departments.

Andy Burnham: Any proposals for the reconfiguration of services are a matter for the national health service locally.
	There is an established and clear process for managing formal public consultations on proposals for major service change so that the public and other stakeholders can help to inform the local debate.

Care Homes

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish  (a) her Department's response to the consultation on the draft national framework for continuing care and  (b) the final national framework for continuing care.

Ivan Lewis: On 14 March I announced my intention to publish new national guidance around eligibility for NHS continuing care in June. This will respond to issues raised during the consultation and set out the new national framework.

Chester-Le-Street Community Hospital

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she decided to visit the Chester-le-Street Community hospital on 9 March 2007; when her Department informed the hospital of her visit; and what the cost of the visit was.

Ivan Lewis: The Secretary of State decided to visit Chester-le-Street Community hospital on 8 March 2007.
	County Durham PCT suggested that the Secretary of State visit Chester-le-Street hospital on 7 March. This followed a request from the Department of Health, and in turn NHS North East.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of deep vein thrombosis were recorded in each health authority in England in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many there were in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Finished consultant episodes( 1)  for deep vein thrombosis in national health service hospitals, England( 2) 
			   Finished consultant episodes 
			   Strategic health authority of treatment  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 2,093 2,147 2,207 2,292 2,121 2,097 
			 Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1,188 1,172 1,282 1,426 1,046 786 
			 Q03 Essex 963 884 970 809 782 868 
			 Q04 North West London 1,244 1,380 1,422 1,189 1,176 1,988 
			 Q05 North Central London 625 711 684 782 675 923 
			 Q06 North East London 957 1,162 1,419 1,391 1,545 1,786 
			 Q07 South East London 3,112 1,954 2,856 3,123 2,922 2,729 
			 Q08 South West London 574 584 736 1,141 1,132 1,054 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 1,227 1,293 1,233 1,399 1,264 1,355 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley 775 855 1,482 1,381 1,203 1,325 
			 Q11 North And East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 1,342 1,529 1,582 1,579 1,343 1,273 
			 Q12 West Yorkshire 1,098 1,198 1,162 2,061 2,032 2,544 
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire 1,000 1,250 2,042 1,991 1,791 1,844 
			 Q14 Greater Manchester 1,738 2,756 3,445 3,558 3,905 3,663 
			 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside 2,776 3,276 3,031 3,117 2,973 3,322 
			 Q16 Thames Valley 1,271 1,101 1,083 1,194 1,159 1,171 
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight 1,345 1,437 1,532 1,690 1,620 1,545 
			 Q18 Kent and Medway 1,267 1,337 1,695 1,637 1,390 1,551 
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex 837 834 1,394 1,370 1,422 1,390 
			 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2,463 2,608 3,052 3,323 2,929 3,470 
			 Q21 South West Peninsula 1,765 1,885 1,527 1,549 1,353 1,362 
			 Q22 Dorset and Somerset 1,269 1,255 1,451 1,089 1,099 1,066 
			 Q23 South Yorkshire 1,246 1,711 1,783 1,805 1,513 1,515 
			 Q24 Trent 2,620 2,502 2,387 2,240 2,302 2,259 
			 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 1,316 1,079 1,082 1,077 932 1,127 
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire 1,264 1,259 1,258 1,340 1,263 1,368 
			 Q27 Birmingham and the Black Country 1,739 1,938 2,696 2,565 2,330 2,388 
			 Q28 West Midlands South (Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire) 1,106 939 1,049 1,173 1,081 1,183 
			 Y Not known 5,567 3,574 0 4 0 0 
			  Total 45,787 45,610 47,542 49,295 46,303 48,952 
			 (1) Finished Consultant Episode (FCE). An FCE is defined as a period of admitted care under on consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within a year.  (2 )The figures are based on any diagnosis rather than main or principle diagnosis. They do not include cases treated by their general practitioner or as an out-patient. 
		
	
	The number of deaths with a mention of either pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis(1) in England are:
	(1) Cause of death defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD10) codes I26, I80.1, I80.2, I80.3, I80.9, I82.9.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 12,216 
			 2002 12,077 
			 2003 12,398 
			 2004 11,682 
			 2005 11,548 
		
	
	Data on deaths by health authority are not readily available centrally.

Dental Services: Eastbourne

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) net primary dental service allocation and  (b) allocation for possible patient charge income was for Eastbourne Downs Primary Care Trust in 2006-07.

Rosie Winterton: A table listing the Primary Dental Service Resource Allocations for 2006-07 for all primary care trusts (PCTs) in England as 31 July 2006 is available in the Library. This set out the net allocations awarded to PCTs and the assumed gross budgets based on illustrative assumptions about levels of patient charge income for each PCT. Strategic health authorities agreed with their PCTs locally how these allocations would be redistributed within the new PCT areas that took effect from 1 October 2006.

Dental Services: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the provision of NHS dentistry in Hertfordshire.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not made any assessment of the dental services in Hertfordshire. It is the responsibility of the primary care trusts to commission services to meet the needs of the population that they serve, this includes the provision of dental services.

Departments: Paper

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to ensure her Department's economical use of paper.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's overall policy is to reduce volume and wastage of paper used and therefore reduce expenditure.
	The Department enters into European Union approved procurement procedures in order to attain the best value for money for paper products that conform to the requirement to purchase paper from renewable sources. It is purchased centrally to maximise savings achieved.
	Our reprographics supplier is instructed only to use paper from renewable sources that meet our requirement and price and that all outputs are produced double-sided as standard.
	The Department has also introduced an electronic filing system that negates the need for keeping paper copies and is reducing the number of available storage cabinets in our offices.

Departments: Pressure Groups

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings took place between Ministers in her Department and outside interest groups between 1 January and 31 March; and what the date was of each such meeting.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Departments: Public Appointments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the former hon. Members who left Parliament in 2005 who have since been appointed to public bodies by her Department, broken down by party; and who was responsible for making each appointment.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not available.

Departments: Railways

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of travel by train by staff on official business in her Department in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The available information up to 2003-04 is shown in the following table. In April 2004, the Department introduced a new accounting system. Under the new accounting system information on train travel costs cannot be separated from other travel and subsistence costs without incurring disproportionate costs.
	
		
			   
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 UK 2,464,284 3,583,589 4,785,867 3,160,225 4,031,956 4,336,592 5,108,219 
			 Overseas 35,853 39,241 30,977 26,902 36,899 27,231 26,540 
			 Total 2,500,137 3,622,830 4,816,845 3,187,127 4,068,855 4,363,823 5,134,759

Dermatology

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of secondary care referral reductions on the future training of doctors aiming to become consultant dermatologists.

Rosie Winterton: No such assessment has been carried out by the Department as this is for local determination.

Doctors: Training

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid to the Work Psychology Partnership in connection with the medical training application service.

Rosie Winterton: There is a contract in place between the Department and Work Psychology Partnership for the sum of 92,950 excluding VAT. Work Psychology Partnership are contracted to provide advice and tools to support the recruitment and selection into specialty training programmes, for which the Medical Training Application Service facilitates applications.

Doctors: Training

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS); and how much has been allocated to MTAS for 2007-08.

Rosie Winterton: The cost of the Medical Training Application Service (including set up costs) is 1.9 million in 2006-07. The budgets for 2007-08 have not yet been agreed.

Elderly: Nutrition

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to ensure that patients in hospital over the age of 65 years receive an appropriate diet; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: An appropriate diet requires good food with the right nutritional content, properly prepared and available when patients need it.
	The National Health Service Plan stipulated that dieticians should advise and check on nutritional values in hospital food. Nutritional information is available for all recipes in the national dish selector, and this can be used to assess local nutritional levels. Ingredients specifications for the recipes have been developed by the Purchasing and Supply Agency to ensure that wholesome, high quality and value-for-money ingredients are used.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) Strategic Plan for 2005-10 includes a commitment to support other Government Departments to set targets to improve the nutritional quality of meals served in major institutions. Work is under way to develop nutrient and food based guidance for institutions that will support cross-Government action on diet and food procurement. The first set of guidance, including an example menu, for those providing food to older people in residential care who do not have specific diet-related medical needs, was published by the FSA in October 2006.
	The quality of hospital food is measured annually via patient environment action team (PEAT) assessments. These showed an increase from 17 per cent., good in 2002 to over 34 per cent., excellent in 2005-06. (There was no excellent category in 2002, when a three-point scale was used).
	Older people in hospital may prefer to eat little and often, and this was provided for in the NHS Plan. For the last year in which statistics were collected (2004), 89 per cent. of hospitals had introduced ward kitchen services to provide light snacks, 80 per cent. were providing snack boxes for patients who missed a meal and 84 per cent. provided extra snacks during the day.
	It is known that older people in hospital are vulnerable to malnutrition. To identify and deal with patients at risk, we have introduced protected mealtimes and have renewed the emphasis on nutritional screening. These two areas of work are being actively pursued by the National Patient Safety Agency.
	I announced a national action plan on 14 March 2007 to tackle the issue of older people and nutrition more generally. The action plan followed a nutrition summit on the same day, attended by leading charities, clinicians, nutrition experts and care home representatives. It will be further worked up in close consultation with frontline workers.

Fibromyalgia

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned into the causes and treatment of fibromyalgia; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's expenditure on health research has been allocated to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects supported in the NHS, including a significant number concerned with fibromyalgia, can be found on the national research register at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/research.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is not currently funding research specifically into fibromyalgia although some basic research currently being undertaken will help develop our understanding of the condition.

Good Hope Hospital

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) doctors and  (b) nurses were employed at Good Hope hospital in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental and non-medical staff working within Good Hope hospital National Health Service Trust, as at 30 September each year 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   Medical and dental staff  Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 
			 1996 163 859 
			 1997 179 809 
			 1998 172 777 
			 1999 192 880 
			 2000 185 834 
			 2001 201 803 
			 2002 210 826 
			 2003 228 847 
			 2004 240 853 
			 2005 265 918 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census. The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

GPs: Training

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when general practitioner trainers will receive payments for the 2006-07 financial year for continuing professional development; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: In its 34th report the doctors' and dentists' review body recommended a 750 supplement for general practitioner trainers to boost their continuing professional development. It is for strategic health authorities to meet this commitment.

Health Professions: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) dentists,  (b) opticians and  (c) general practitioners there were in Bexley in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2006.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested can be found in the following tables.
	Table 1 shows data on the number of dentists as at 31 March 1997 and 2006 based on the old contractual arrangements.
	
		
			  Table 1: general dental services ( G DS) and personal dental services (PDS): numbers of national health service dentists in Bexley Care Trust and Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency 
			   1997  2006 
			 Bexley Care Trust 92 102 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency 34 9 
			  Notes: 1. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. Constituency and primary care trust (PCT) areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics All Fields Postcode Directory. 2. Dentists consist of principals, assistant and trainees. Information on national health service dentistry in the community dental service, in hospitals and in prisons are excluded. 3. The data in this report are based on NHS dentists on PCT lists. These details were passed on to the BSA who paid dentists based on activity undertaken. A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. In some cases an NHS dentist may appear on a PCT list but not perform any NHS work in that period. Most NHS dentists do some private work. The data do not take into account the proportion of NHS work undertaken. 4. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending on the date the figures are compiled. This is because the NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) may be notified of joiners or leavers to or from the up to several months, or more, after the move has taken place. 5. Constituency and PCT data include all dentists practising in that area. Some dentists may have an open GDS or PDS contract in more than one constituency and therefore they have been counted more than once. 6. The boundaries used are as at 31 March 2006.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care, Dental Statistics NHS Business Services Authority 
		
	
	Table 2 shows information on the number of optical practitioners (headcount) for 1997 for Greenwich and Bexley Health Authority (HA). The latest information available in Table 3 shows the number of optical practitioners (headcount) for Bexley Care Trust in 2005.
	
		
			  Table 2: Ophthalmic workforce for Greenwich and Bexley HA as at 31 December 1997 
			   1997 
			 Greenwich and Bexley HA 202 
			 Notes: 1. Some practitioners included in this table may also have held a contract with another HA. 2. These figures do not take into account the level of activity (if any) of each practitioner. 3. Practitioners include Ophthalmic opticians and Ophthalmic Medical Practitioners.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care, Ophthalmic Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Ophthalmic workforce for Bexley Care Trust as at 31 December 2005 
			   2005 
			 Bexley Care Trust 48 
			  Notes: 1. Some practitioners included in this table may also have held a contract with another PCT. 2. These figures do not take into account the level of activity (if any) of each practitioner. 3. Practitioners include Ophthalmic opticians and Ophthalmic Medical Practitioners. 4. The 2005 figures are affected by the changes in the General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) regulations introduced on 1 April 2005. 5. Work force figures for 2006 are not currently available. These will be published in summer 2007.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care, Ophthalmic Statistics 
		
	
	General practitioner data are not available at the specific years of 1997 and 2006 for Bexley. Data are only available at PCT level.
	Table 4 shows number of general practitioners working within the Bexley Care Trust for years 2005 (latest data available) and 2001 (year the care trust was created).
	
		
			  Table 4:  General medical practitioners (excluding GP registrars and GP retainers( 1) ) working in Bexley Care Trust, as at 30 September each year 
			  Number  (headcount) and full- time equivalents 
			   2001  2005 
			   Number  FTE  Number  FTE 
			 Bexley Care Trust 101 94 117 106 
			 1 General medical practitioners (excluding GP Registrars and GP Retainers) includes Contracted GPs, GMS Others, PMS Others.  Note: The Care Trust was created in 2001.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care, General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Heart Diseases: Medical Equipment

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  why the cost of stent devices used in endovascular repair of aortic aneurysm is met by primary care trusts; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations she has received on the inclusion of the stent device used in endovascular repair of aortic aneurysm on the list of exclusions from payment by results funding.

Rosie Winterton: In consultation with the national health service and industry, the list of drug and device exclusions from the payment by results has been increased. This ensures that care which includes the use of expensive drugs and/or devices is adequately rewarded. This is part of an annual cycle, which aims to ensure the tariff takes account of the introduction of new drugs and devices.
	The payment by results team have had representations about the funding of endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms under tariff. These include queries direct from clinicians, and through a questionnaire issued last year to seek feedback from the NHS on the funding of specialised services. Aortic stents are excluded from payment by results in order to help address these concerns. The Department has had no representations that the exclusion of aortic stents is inappropriate.

Hospitals: Infections

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital-acquired infections were diagnosed in each year between 1997 and 2006, broken down by type of infection in each strategic health authority.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not available. The best available information is from the mandatory surveillance system, which provides data on the number of reports of methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias) from April 2001 to 31 March 2006, the number of reports of  Clostridium difficile for patients aged 65 and over from January 2004 to September 2006 are shown in the table and the number of glycopeptide resistant enterococci (GRE) blood stream infections from 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2005.
	Data has been extracted from HCAI: Quarterly Reporting Results for Clostridium difficile Infections and MRSA Bacteraemia, as published in January 2007. Data for glycopeptides resistant enterococci blood stream infections was extracted from the mandatory surveillance of the healthcare associated infection report 2006 published in July 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Annual counts of Clostridium difficile (January 2004 to September 2006) 
			  SHA  Number of C.difficile reports for patients  65 years January to December 2004  Number of C.difficile reports for patients  65 years January to December 2005  Number of C.difficile reports for patients  65 years January to September 2006 
			 East Midlands 2,483 3,812 4,021 
			 East of England 5,418 5,953 4,856 
			 London 6,065 7,358 5,850 
			 North East 2,319 2,800 2,255 
			 North West 5,351 6,359 5,357 
			 South Central 3,351 3,458 2,630 
			 South East Coast 4,096 4,511 3,850 
			 South West 5,421 6,718 4,733 
			 West Midlands 5,446 6,414 5,702 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4,157 4,307 3,371 
			 Total 44,107 51,690 42,625 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Annual counts of MRSA bacteraemia April 2001 to March 2006 
			  April to March each year 
			   MRSA bacteraemia reports 
			  SHA  2001 - 02  2002 - 03  2003 - 04  2004- 05  2005- 06 
			 East Midlands 543 494 519 450 433 
			 East of England 754 713 684 725 678 
			 London 1,616 1,707 1,682 1,392 1,321 
			 North East 363 380 389 360 378 
			 Northwest 867 934 975 1,016 1,030 
			 South Central 439 447 467 426 451 
			 South East Coast 539 551 578 583 600 
			 South West 695 724 730 670 690 
			 West Midlands 761 812 882 860 862 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 714 664 792 751 652 
			 Total 7,291 7,426 7,698 7,233 7,095 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Annual counts of glycopeptide resistant enterococci blood stream infections from 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2005 
			  1 October to 30 September each year 
			   Glycopeptide resistant enterococci reports 
			  SHA  2003- 04  2004-0 5 
			 East Midlands 32 48 
			 East of England 73 92 
			 London (1)229 (2)247 
			 North East 3 4 
			 North West 59 113 
			 South Central 58 43 
			 South East Coast 33 35 
			 South West 38 58 
			 West Midlands 72 89 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 31 28 
			 Total 628 757 
			 (1) 0ne trust missing data for all four quarters. (2) 0ne trust missing data for two quarters.

Hospitals: Infections

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1012W, on hospitals: infectious disease, if she will publish the evidential basis for her statement that recent information suggests no difference between in-house and contract cleaning with respect to hospital-acquired infections; when she first asked for studies into the possible links between hospitals with different cleaning arrangements and  (a) MRSA and  (d) clostridium difficile; when officials in her Department first received the results of these studies; and if she will place copies of the results of these studies in the Library.

Ivan Lewis: Preliminary statistical analysis suggests that, other things being equal, hospitals with contract cleaning do not have statistically significantly different rates of methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia (bloodstream infection) to those with in-house cleaning. This is the result of on-going analysis by the Department into the relationship between MRSA rates and a variety of hospital characteristics, the results of which will be finalised and published later this year. Preliminary analysis also suggests that there is also no significant relationship between type of cleaning service and  clostridium difficile rates.
	This work was not formally commissioned but statistical analysis has been ongoing since 2004 and Ministers have been kept informed of emerging results since that time. This work forms part of ongoing work in the Department aimed at better understanding variations in health care associated infections and their implications for policy.

Male Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to ensure the accuracy of self-reporting of health conditions of  (a) UK Irish men and  (b) white British men living in England.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is committed to tackling gender inequalities within the health and social care sector by recognising the specific health needs of men and women. The Department commissioned the Men's Health Forum to work with five primary care trusts (PCTs) to develop a tool to assist PCTs in providing gender sensitive services, which was launched in November 2006.
	The Department is also seeking to raise the quality of ethnicity data in healthcare. In July 2005, we published guidance on ethnicity monitoring of national health service patients and social care users, confirming the use of Office for National Statistics codes for ethnic group, which include white British and white Irish. The guidance states that trusts should not, for data collection purposes, group white British and white Irish codes into one, as this will prevent trusts from monitoring the particular health inequalities experienced by Irish men and women.

Maternity Services: Gravesham

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future provision of ante-natal services available to patients in Gravesham.

Ivan Lewis: This a matter for the local national health service. However in Gravesham, as elsewhere in the country, we would expect NHS organisations to follow the maternity standard of the children's national service framework and the guidelines on antenatal care published in 2003 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). In terms of antenatal education, the guidelines confirm that there are many different ways of providing classes and antenatal education. Variations can occur in the number of classes offered, their content, whether they are offered individually or in groups, and when during the course of the pregnancy they are offered.

NHS Direct

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors her Department took into account when deciding to withdraw funding from BestTreatments, the health information resource for patients which has been available online on the NHS Direct website; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health is committed to providing patients and the public with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health, but needs to target resources where they will be most effective. The reasons for the decision were that the contract for Best Treatments had expired and the service no longer represented value for money.
	The Department will ensure that patients have access to the information that they need by developing new on-line and telephone based resources, through partnerships with libraries, through our new information prescriptions and by accrediting third party producers of information. In this way, the Department will help people to find the excellent information that is already available rather than duplicate production and assure people that the information they access is reliable and relevant to them.

NHS: Intimidation

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints of harassment or bullying have been made by employees of the NHS; and what steps have been taken  (a) to deal with and  (b) to eradicate it.

Rosie Winterton: The Healthcare Commission's National Health Service Staff Survey was published on 30 March. The survey records staff experiences of violence and bullying. The results can be found on the Healthcare Commission's website:
	www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/newsandevents/press releases.cfm/cit_id/5334/FAArea1/customWidgets.content _view_l/usecache/false
	The NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) is part of the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS), a division of the NHS Business Service Authority (a Special Health Authority), and has overall responsibility for all policy and operational matters related to the management of security in the NHS including bullying and violence against staff.
	Guidance on reporting and dealing with non-physical assaults against NHS staff and professionals was issued to health bodies in November 2004. From 1 April 2004, a national syllabus for conflict resolution training (CRT) has been made available for all frontline staff and professionals working in the NHS. The aim is to equip staff with the necessary skills to be able to identify and de-escalate potentially violent situations from occurring in the first place. Returns from health bodies for the financial year 2005-06 indicate that around 250,000 frontline staff have been trained in conflict resolution skills, to date.
	Research on the conflict resolution training programme delivered to NHS frontline staff produced extremely encouraging results which have been published in February 2007. The results from the two-year study indicated that CRT had a positive impact on respondents' perceptions of safety, their experiences of abuse and their perceived abilities to deal with abuse at work. The full report on the findings is available at www.cfsms.nhs.uk.
	On Wednesday 1 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, announced an increase of 12 per cent. in the number of people prosecuted for assaults against NHS staff, from 759 in 2004-05 to 850 in 2005-06. This shows a marked increase on the reported 51 criminal sanctions for the 2002-03 period.
	Figures for the number of reported assaults against NHS staff were also released on 1 November 2006. The statistics show there were 58,695 physical assaults against NHS staff reported in England, 1,690 fewer than 2004-05and one for every 23 staff members, down from 22 in 2004-05.

NHS: Public Appointments

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether residency in the catchment area is a criterion used in the appointment of members of NHS trust boards; and what guidelines she has issued to strategic health authorities on appointments to NHS trust boards.

Rosie Winterton: The appointment of chairs and non-executive directors of national health service trusts has been delegated by the Secretary of State for Health to the Appointments Commission. She has directed the Commission to appoint people, where possible, who live in the area served by the NHS trust.

Nurses: Pay

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage increase in nurses' pay was in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 6 March 2007
	The following table shows pay recommendations of the review body for nursing and other health professions for qualified nurses, the pay uplift awarded in year and the change in average qualified nurses' earnings per head. Average earnings growth differs from the basic pay uplift as a result of net pay drift and investment in pay reform.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Main nursing and other health professional review body recommendation  Pay uplift awarded  Change in average qualified nurses earnings per head 
			 1997-98 3.3 (1)3.0 -8.5 
			 1998-99 3.8 (1)2.6 1.0 
			 1999-2000 4.7 4.7 6.2 
			 2000-01 3.4 3.4 4.9 
			 2001-02 3.7 3.7 5.6 
			 2002-03 3.6 3.6 3.8 
			 2003-04 3.225 3.2 2.4 
			 2004-05 3.225 3.2 6.1 
			 2005-06 3.225 3.2 4.2 
			 2006-07 2.5 2.5 (2)5.2 
			 2007-08 2.5 (1)1.9 (2)4.3 
			 (1) 1997-98, 1998-99 and 2007-08 were years where the awards were staged. (2) 2006-07 and 2007-08 earnings growth figures are projections and are subject to change.  Note: For 1997-98 the information was not collected.

Physiotherapy: Training

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trainee physiotherapists she expects to qualify in each of the next three years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Prostate Cancer

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical nurse specialists are working with prostate cancer patients in the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
	Specialist cancer nurses are not separately identified in the census from the rest of the nursing workforce.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were diagnosed with sickle cell disease and related disorders in each London borough in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many people have been diagnosed with sickle cell disease and related disorders in each region in England; and how much was spent on their care per capita in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect this information.

Special Advisers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2007,  Official Report, column 872W, on special advisers, whether  (a) she and  (b) officials in her Department have received notices of external employment from her special advisers in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: I have nothing further to add to the answer given on 20 March 2007,  Official Report, column 872W.

Treatment Notices

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any patient surveys have been undertaken on the usefulness to NHS patients of notices sent to them on forthcoming treatments.

Rosie Winterton: We are not aware of any recent national surveys. The national patient survey programme, which asks patients about their experience of national health service care, does not request this information.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many intervention orders have been applied as part of an antisocial behaviour order in  (a) Bristol local authority and  (b) each Respect Action area since this power came into effect on 1 October 2006.

Tony McNulty: Data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts are currently available covering the period up to 31 December 2005. Data for subsequent periods will be published in due course. However, as I made clear in a written ministerial statement on 7 December 2006,  Official Report, column 30WS, this data do not cover intervention orders. A new national system for collecting data on ASBOs centrally is scheduled for implementation from 1 July, and will incorporate new reporting requirements, including data on intervention orders which will be available at Criminal Justice System area level.

Departments: Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on  (a) sponsoring newspaper or publication supplements and  (b) funding advertorials in newspapers or publications in the last year for which figures are available; and what the topic was of each.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not hold the information, at the requested level of detail, in a readily accessible form. An answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Neither does the Department retain records of how much its contractors spend with particular media outlets, for example the Central Office of Information, who manage most of the Department's publicity campaigns.

Departments: Counselling

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare services are delivered by  (a) external drug agencies,  (b) prison officers and  (c) health care staff.

Gerry Sutcliffe: External drug agencies deliver 77 per cent. worth of the total value of counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare services (CARATs) and 23 per cent. is delivered by prison staff. Health care staff do not deliver CARATs services.

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1222W, on domestic violence, if he will provide Table 2 referred to in the answer.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I apologise for the omission of the table concerned. This was due to an administrative oversight. The following table shows the number of convictions for domestic violence cases.
	
		
			  Table 2: Proceedings for domestic violence for 2005 and 2006 
			   2005  2006 
			   Convictions  Unsuccessful outcomes   Convictions  Unsuccessful outcomes  
			   Number  %  Number  %  Total  Number  %  Number  %  Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 750 67.1 367 32.9 1,117 986 66.4 499 33.6 1,485 
			 Bedfordshire 189 44.3 238 55.7 427 334 55.1 272 44.9 606 
			 Cambridgeshire 333 62.1 203 37.9 536 378 62.2 230 37.8 608 
			 Cheshire 578 64.9 312 35.1 890 870 64.7 474 35.3 1,344 
			 Cleveland 371 65.7 194 34.3 565 570 67.9 270 32.1 840 
			 Cumbria 292 61.1 186 38.9 478 327 66.3 166 33.7 493 
			 Derbyshire 673 56.1 526 43.9 1,199 738 61.1 470 38.9 1,208 
			 Devon and Cornwall 726 54.3 612 45.7 1,338 823 64.3 456 35.7 1,279 
			 Dorset 276 64.8 150 35.2 426 425 66.8 211 33.2 636 
			 Durham 401 75.0 134 25.0 535 589 71.5 235 28.5 824 
			 Dyfed Powys 172 61.6 107 38.4 279 297 70.9 122 29.1 419 
			 Essex 661 52.5 597 47.5 1,258 709 61.5 443 38.5 1,152 
			 Gloucestershire 440 67.7 210 32.3 650 485 69.4 214 30.6 699 
			 Greater Manchester 1,285 65.8 668 34.2 1,953 2,169 68.3 1,008 31.7 3,177 
			 Gwent 288 59.8 194 40.2 482 438 64.5 241 35.5 679 
			 Hampshire and IOW 906 60.8 583 39.2 1,489 1,243 67.5 598 32.5 1,841 
			 Hertfordshire 477 51.5 449 48.5 926 492 57.6 362 42.4 854 
			 Humberside 441 75.8 141 24.2 582 734 76.3 228 23.7 962 
			 Kent 437 64.2 244 35.8 681 811 68.0 382 32.0 1,193 
			 Lancashire 1,089 72.0 424 28.0 1,513 1,653 66.0 852 34.0 2,505 
			 Leicestershire 523 59.8 351 40.2 874 766 59.1 531 40.9 1,297 
			 Lincolnshire 249 57.5 184 42.5 433 393 71.2 159 28.8 552 
			 London 2,067 51.0 1,982 49.0 4,049 3,338 53.5 2,905 46.5 6,243 
			 Merseyside 770 51.5 724 48.5 1,494 1,157 59.3 795 40.7 1,952 
			 Norfolk 421 71.0 172 29.0 593 571 76.0 180 24.0 751 
			 Northamptonshire 326 59.4 223 40.6 549 332 57.3 247 42.7 579 
			 Northumbria 950 66.7 474 33.3 1,424 1,115 66.8 554 33.2 1,669 
			 North Wales 454 68.2 212 31.8 666 599 70.4 252 29.6 851 
			 North Yorkshire 334 58.3 239 41.7 573 356 62.9 210 37.1 566 
			 Nottinghamshire 550 53.2 483 46.8 1,033 676 59.4 463 40.6 1,139 
			 South Wales 678 52.2 622 47.8 1,300 849 62.4 511 37.6 1,360 
			 South Yorkshire 751 66.3 382 33.7 1,133 1,210 70.8 500 29.2 1,710 
			 Staffordshire 800 47.9 869 52.1 1,669 1,032 65.2 550 34.8 1,582 
			 Suffolk 428 63.7 244 36.3 672 652 76.7 198 23.3 850 
			 Surrey 248 53.0 220 47.0 468 214 59.0 149 41.0 363 
			 Sussex 656 57.4 487 42.6 1,143 754 59.8 506 40.2 1,260 
			 Thames Valley 832 57.5 615 42.5 1,447 1,303 60.0 867 40.0 2,170 
			 Warwickshire 98 77.2 29 22.8 127 156 76.8 47 23.2 203 
			 West Mercia 423 51.0 406 49.0 829 507 63.1 297 36.9 804 
			 West Midlands 1,761 59.5 1,199 40.5 2,960 2,558 60.5 1,669 39.5 4,227 
			 West Yorkshire 1,605 55.8 1,271 44.2 2,876 1,749 62.8 1,034 37.2 2,783 
			 Wiltshire 405 66.6 203 33.4 608 462 66.4 234 33.6 696 
			 Total 26,114 59.0 18,130 41.0 44,244 35,820 63.5 20,591 36.5 56,411

Fingerprints: ICT

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of the mobile fingerprint scanner pilot project codenamed Lantern.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The Lantern pilot runs for 12 months (up to December 2007) and the cost of providing the technology, upgrading the IDENT1 search capability (capability that can be re-used throughout the full IDENT1 contract life), training and service for the 10 pilot forces is 2.6 million.

ICT: Home Office

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of updating his Department's Large Major Enquiry System 2 computer system to Version 11.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The Version 11 Upgrade to HOLMES 2, which included the refresh of the free text retrieval package, cost 585,836. PITO paid 302,486 and the forces contributed 283,350 via a centrally managed uplift fund. This included 165,855 for CasWeb which is part of HOLMES 2.

Immigration Controls

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to minimise the migration to the UK of unskilled workers.

Liam Byrne: The Government's Five Year Strategy on Asylum and Immigration, published in February 2005, stated that existing low-skilled migration schemes for non-EEA nationals would be phased out in the light of the availability of workers from the enlarged European Union. The quota for Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) was cut from 25,000 in 2004 to 16,250 in the following three years. The quota for the Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) was cut from 20,000 in 2003-04 to 15,000 in 2004-05 and to 3,500 in the following years with the termination of the SBS quota for the hospitality sector altogether in July 2005.
	The Government have subsequently announced that the SAWS will be phased out in 2010 and, in the meantime, both the SAWS and the SBS will move to being restricted to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals while quota restrictions on those countries nationals' access to low skilled work in the United Kingdom are in force.
	The Government have stated that if there is a need to admit non-EEA nationals to meet labour shortages at low skill levels in particular sectors in the future, quota-based schemes will be established under Tier 3 of the Points Based System for this purpose. It will for the Migration Advisory Committee to identify whether there is a case for doing so for any particular sector. Following the recent expansion of the EU and the continuing restrictions on low skilled labour from Romania and Bulgaria, a Tier 3 scheme is unlikely to be needed in the short-term.

Migrant Workers

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to promote the migration to the UK of skilled workers.

Liam Byrne: There are a number of existing schemes to facilitate the entry of skilled workers to the UK labour market, the primary ones being the highly skilled migrant programme and the work permit system.
	A new points-based system, which will apply to all work and study routes, will be phased in from early 2008.
	Tier 1 of the system, which caters for highly skilled migrants such as scientists and entrepreneurs, will be launched at the beginning of 2008;
	Tier 2, targeting skilled workers with a job offer and Tier 5, for youth mobility and temporary workers, will come on line in the third quarter of 2008; and
	Tier 4, for students, will follow at the beginning of 2009.
	A system of sponsorship by employers and educational institutions to ensure compliance with the immigration rules is also being introduced as part of the new system at the beginning of next year.
	The points-based system will enable the Government to manage migration to the UK more effectively, tackle abuse and attract the most talented workers into the UK economy.

Migrant Workers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many staff in his Department are working on establishing and maintaining the new system of restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria;
	(2)  what estimate has been made of the cost to his Department of establishing and maintaining the new system of restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria.

Liam Byrne: Firstly I wish to apologise for the delay in responding.
	There is a dedicated Home Office unit, based in Sheffield, responsible for establishing and maintaining the new scheme to maintain limits on access to the labour market by nationals of Bulgaria and Romania, and issuing documentation to those who meet the necessary criteria. They were assisted in the initial establishment of their work by colleagues from around the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) as preparations were made to reflect the accession of the two countries in all aspects of IND's work.
	The costs of establishing the scheme are estimated to be approximately 1.6 million, broken down as follows:
	
		
			million 
			 Scheme set-up costs 1.11 
			 Informing employers 0.24 
			 Informing Bulgarian and Romanian nationals 0.23 
		
	
	Estimated costs for running this scheme for 2007 are 1.45 million. This is in addition to the 1.6 million for establishing the scheme detailed above.

National Appropriate Adult Network: Finance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much funding was given to  (a) the National Appropriate Adult Network and  (b) the Independent Custody Visitors Association, in each of the last three financial years;
	(2)  what the projected funding allocation for  (a) the National Appropriate Adult Network and  (b) the Independent Custody Visitors Association is for each of the next two financial years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 28 March 2007
	The following funding has been provided by the Home Office for the financial years 2004-05 to 2006-07.
	
		
			   
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  (a) National Appropriate Adult Network 50,000 100,000 75,000 
			  (b) Independent Custody Visiting Association 187,500 57,996 150,000 
		
	
	I understand that NAAN receives regular income from their membership (statutory or voluntary/commercial appropriate adult schemes) and have also successfully obtained grant funding from grant-making bodies such as the Rowntree Foundation. ICVA also receives income from membership fees (police authorities) and has generated additional revenue through the provision of services with the Scottish Executive, the NIO and overseas.
	The Home Office has recently been working with NAAN, ICVA and the Association of Police Authorities to review the existing provisions of services and the roles and functions of both organisations.
	Funding for 2007-08 and 2008-09 is not yet finalised.

Northallerton Young Offender Institution

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison staff at HM Young Offenders Institution Northallerton have been dismissed or disciplined in each year from 2001-02 to 2006-07 following successful claims for compensation by prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 April 2007
	In the public sector Prison Service, information relating to prisoner litigation claims has only been recorded centrally since 2004-05. According to these centrally held records, no prison staff at HM Young Offenders Institute Northallerton have been dismissed or disciplined following successful claims for compensation by prisoners.

Northallerton Young Offender Institution

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims for compensation were made by prisoners at HM Young Offenders Institution Northallerton from 2001 to 2006; how many have been successful; and what action was taken by the prison authorities in each case to prevent similar claims in the future.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 April 2007
	Figures available centrally indicate that between 2004-05 and 2006-07, Northallerton received four litigation claims from prisoners. During the same period three of those claims were settled out of court. Figures prior to 2004-05 were not recorded centrally.
	Each case is dealt with on its own merits and any remedial action that is identified to minimise further successful claims is, where appropriate, implemented.

Northallerton Young Offender Institution

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why his Department agreed a 575,000 compensation settlement to an inmate of HM Young Offender Institution Northallerton; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 April 2007
	The Prison Service settled the case following a full analysis of all the evidence, based on strong legal advice from the Home Office appointed solicitor and barrister. The value of the settlement was determined by the available medical evidence and the Judicial Studies Board guidelines on general damages. The claim was settled in order to minimise costs to the taxpayer because if the claim had proceeded to court it would have resulted in considerably more expense to the public purse.

Knife Crime

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of knife crime were reported in  (a) the Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: From the information collected on recorded crime, it is not possible to identify those offences which are knife related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the recorded crime statistics.
	Figures are collected for homicides involving the use of sharp instruments but they do not separately identify knife-related offences. As from April 2007, police forces will provide data on knife-enabled grievous bodily harm and robbery offences.

Pentonville Prison

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the Commissioning Authority is for  (a) the investigation into staff corruption at HM Prison Pentonville and  (b) the Tasker inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There is no single over-arching investigation into corruption at HMP Pentonville. The Governor of Pentonville has however commissioned a number of investigations into allegations of staff corruption at the prison.
	The Area Manager for London is the commissioning authority for the Tasker report.

Police: Gloucestershire

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what policing costs associated with the wedding of Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar were met by  (a) Gloucestershire police and  (b) the organisers of the event.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary.

Police: Translation Services

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on translation services for foreign suspects by each police force in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Tony McNulty: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1636W.

Prisoners Release

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders given life sentences since 2000 have already been released.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 20 April 2007
	Answering the question would involve a significant manual checking of records and the earlier request for this information was integral to informing the need for a data quality review in the Department. Since then the data quality review has begun and, as part of that review we are developing a new database that will enable us to collect the data requested centrally. But, at this time, to answer the question would involve a disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug rehabilitation programmes are provided within prison establishments; and how many of these have dedicated accommodation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are currently 116 intensive drug rehabilitation programmes running across the prison estate. Information on the number of establishments with dedicated accommodation is not held centrally.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's decision to phase out the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme in 2010.

Liam Byrne: The Government's Five Year Strategy on Asylum and Immigration, published in February 2005, stated that existing low-skilled migration schemes for non-EEA nationals would be phased out in the light of the availability of workers from the enlarged European Union.
	The Government have subsequently announced that the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme will be phased out in 2010 and, in the meantime, will move to it being restricted to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals while quota restrictions on those countries nationals' access to low skilled work in the United Kingdom are in force.
	The Government have stated that if there is a need to admit non-EEA nationals to meet labour shortages at low skill levels in particular sectors in the future, quota-based schemes will be established under Tier 3 of the Points Based System for this purpose. It will be for the Migration Advisory Committee to identify whether there is a case for doing so for any particular sector. Following the recent expansion of the EU and the continuing restrictions on low skilled labour from Romania and Bulgaria, a Tier 3 scheme is unlikely to be needed in the short-term.

Thehbian Salin

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Mr. Thehbian Salin as referred to in the question tabled by the hon. Member for Penrith and the Border on 6 October 2006 has been deported.

Liam Byrne: It is not our policy to comment on individual cases.

Tolls: Cameras

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether proposals to integrate cameras from  (a) congestion charging and  (b) road pricing schemes into the automated number plate recognition scheme have been considered.

Tony McNulty: The police use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology is an intelligence-led tool aimed primarily at tackling serious and organised crime and terrorism. It is entirely separate from proposals being developed by the Department for Transport for local road pricing schemes.
	The Metropolitan police have approached Transport for London about the feasibility of using London congestion charging cameras for safeguarding the security of the general public. The terrorist threat we face is real and serious and it is only right that we consider anything which may be of use to us in the fight against terrorism, but no decisions have been made on this matter.

Wandsworth Prison

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Tasker Inquiry into the conduct of the previous governor at HM Prison Wandsworth to be completed; and to whom the report will be submitted for consideration.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Tasker report is now due to be completed by the end of April, and will be submitted to the Area Manager for London for consideration. I have asked to see a summary of the report which will not be published.

Written Questions

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to question number 122841, on Oakhill Secure Training Centre, tabled by the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes on 20 February.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 April 2007
	 I replied to the hon. Member on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 470W.

TREASURY

Census: Freedom of Information

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for Freedom of Information Act access to extracts from the 1921 Census were received by the Office for National Statistics  (a) between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2006 and  (b) between 1 January and 31 March 2007; and how many of those applications were successful in each period.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 April 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many Freedom of Information Act applications were received by ONS for extracts from the 1921 Census between (a) 1st January 2005 and 31st December 2006 and (b) 1st January 2007 and 31st March 2007; and how many of these applications were successful. (131972)
	The Office for National Statistics received 23 and 21 requests for access to 1921 Census returns for these periods, respectively.
	In all cases the information requested was withheld under the exemptions available for personal census information.

Child Care Tax Credit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in  (a) the United Kingdom,  (b) each region and  (c) each London borough have received childcare credits in each year since their introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: For information on the number of in-work families receiving the child care element of the working tax credit, broken down by region and local authority, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) on 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 276W.
	Estimates for 2003-04 are only available at regional level as the only data available are for a sample of cases. Any estimates would therefore be unreliable at local authority level.

Childbirth

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government Actuary's Department expects the number of live births to be in  (a) England and  (b) the UK in each of the next 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 April 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding what projection has been made of the number of live births in (a) England and (b) the United Kingdom for each of the next ten years. (131959)
	The most recent projection of the number of births was produced as part of the 2004-based national population projections published in October 2005. The information requested is available at:
	http://www.gad.gov.uk/Population/2004/england/weng04cc.xls for England and
	http://www.gad.gov.uk/Population/2004/uk/wuk04cc.xls for the United Kingdom.
	The next (2006-based) national population projections are scheduled for publication in October 2007.

Childbirth

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many live births took place in England in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 April 2007:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many live births have taken place in England in each year since 1997. (131968)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2005. The table below shows the number of live births that occurred in England each year from 1997 to 2005.
	
		
			  Live births that occurred in England, 1997 to 2005 
			   Live births 
			 1997 609,513 
			 1998 603,293 
			 1999 590,524 
			 2000 573,832 
			 2001 564,871 
			 2002 566,691 
			 2003 590,900 
			 2004 608,347 
			 2005 614,237 
			  Notes: 1. Data show live births occurring each year that were registered in England. The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 requires births to be registered in the sub-district in which the baby was born. 2. Data on live births by area of usual residence of mother are routinely published each year in Birth Statistics, Series FM1. Data on live births by area of occurrence are also published but only for maternities taking place in hospitals and not those taking place at home or elsewhere. Hence the figures shown here, based on area of registration, will not exactly match published data.

Childbirth: Registration

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of fraudulent applications for birth certificates in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 April 2007:
	As Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question requesting an estimate of the number of fraudulent applications for birth certificates in each of the last four years. (132086)
	Current legislation allows individuals, if they are able to provide sufficient information of a particular birth, to obtain a certified copy of that event from either the General Register Office (GRO) or from the local register office. There is therefore no need for an individual to act fraudulently to obtain a birth certificate. However a birth record is not evidence of identity and certificates printed since 1993 contain a warning to that effect.
	Very small numbers of births are found to be improperly registered either because no birth event has taken place or the person registering the birth is falsely claiming to be a parent. We are aware of no more than 50 instances of one kind or the other in the past 4 years.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department.

John Healey: The Treasury's internal guidance on hospitality at public expense only applies to functions with external guests present and normally takes the form of lunch or dinner. Casual drinks do not qualify for reimbursement.

Departments: Official Hospitality

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has a visitors' book or other such log of all visitors.

John Healey: No.

Economic Growth

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average rate of productivity growth in  (a) the private manufacturing sector and  (b) the private services sector in the UK was in each year since May 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 23 April 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the average rate of productivity growth in (a) the private manufacturing sector and (b) the private services sector in the UK has been since May. I am replying in her absence. (133220)
	The UK does not currently publish Productivity estimates with a public/private split. Details for the whole of Manufacturing and Services can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/productivity.
	In response to user demand, as an article in the March 2007 edition of the Economic and Labour Market Review, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has introduced two new experimental series measuring productivity in the market sector. These can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?id=1742.
	The ONS is also developing productivity estimates for key public services, in particular health, education, adult social care and the administration of social security. The latest information can be found at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/data/methodology/specific/PublicSector/output/default.asp.

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

James Paice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles in band G for vehicle excise duty (VED) which  (a) will be affected by the increase in duty announced in the Budget and  (b) are registered each year; and what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles which he expects to be paying band G VED in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

John Healey: The band G rate of CO2 emissions graduated vehicle excise duty was introduced in Budget 2006 for cars registered from 23 March 2006 onwards and was increased in Budget 2007 to provide a signal to motorists of the environmental impacts of their potential choice.
	It is estimated that approximately 227,000 vehicles will be affected by the Budget 2007 increase in the band G rate of CO2 emissions graduated vehicle excise duty. This represents the current stock of vehicles in 2006-07.
	The most recent projection is that the number of vehicles within band G would be approximately 310,000 in 2007-08, 460,000 in 2008-09, 605,000 in 2009-10, and 740,000 in 2010-11. The number of vehicles in band G will be lower as result Budget 2007 changes, by approximately 18,000 in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and by approximately 23,000 in 2009-10 and 2010-11, than if no change had been made. The growth in the number of low carbon vehicles is projected to increase.

Gift Aid

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what percentage change he expects in the value of charitable giving using the Gift Aid system in the 2007-08 tax year; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: For Budget forecasting purposes it was assumed that Gift Aid donations would increase by 5.6 per cent. in 2007-08. This corresponds to an increase in total Gift Aid income for charities of approximately 0.4 billion.

Gift Aid

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the  (a) amount and  (b) percentage of income charities (i) will receive from tax reclaimed through the Gift Aid system in the 2007-08 tax year if the current level of charitable donations stays the same and (ii) received through Gift Aid in each of the last five tax years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Amounts of repayments to charities of basic rate income tax on Gift Aid donations are published for years up to 2005-06 at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/charities/table10-1.xls
	The table will be updated to include the year 2006-07 at the end of April 2007. No estimate has been made of the amount and percentage of income charities will receive from tax reclaimed through the Gift Aid system in the 2007-08 tax year. However, for Budget forecasting purposes it was assumed that Gift Aid donations would increase by 5.6 per cent. in 2007-08.
	These amounts are estimated to represent between 1 per cent. and 2 per cent. of total charity income during the last five years.

Gift Aid

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the effect of reducing basic rate income tax on the amount of gift aid received by charitable organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government have received several representations regarding the consultation as announced by the Chancellor in the Budget and how that consultation could be best targeted in order to drive up the take up of Gift Aid. A number of meetings have either been held or are planned between officials and sector representative bodies, including the Charity Finance Director's Group, Charity Tax Reform Group and the Institute of Fundraising.

Import Duties

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in import duties was levied on imports to the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the total was paid to the EU.

John Healey: The amounts of duties levied on imports to the United Kingdom and the proportions paid to the EU in each of the last 10 years are as follows;
	
		
			   Import duties levied (  million)  Percentage paid to EU 
			 1997 2,274.0 90 
			 1998 2,119.0 90 
			 1999 1,994.0 90 
			 2000 2,103.6 90 
			 2001 2,109.9 (1)90  75 
			 2002 2,044.2 75 
			 2003 1,905.7 75 
			 2004 2,064.3 75 
			 2005 2,277.6 75 
			 2006 2,312.1 75 
			 (1 )The percentage that member states were obliged to pay to the EU decreased from 90 per cent. to 75 per cent. during 2001. Of the total import duties levied in that year, 344.2 million attracted the 90 per cent. rate and l,766.7 million the 75 per cent. rate.

Import Duties: Lighting

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tariffs and duties are levied on low energy light bulbs imported into the UK from Asia.

Dawn Primarolo: The standard customs duty rate levied on low energy light bulbs imported into the UK is 2.7 per cent. In addition, there is value added tax of 17.5 per cent. Imports of these light bulbs originating in certain Asian countries may qualify for a preferential rate of duty of 0 per cent.. The list of potential qualifying countries are:
	Brunei - Darussalam
	Cambodia
	Indonesia
	Laos
	Bangladesh
	Bhutan Pakistan
	India
	Maldives
	Malaysia
	Philippines
	Vietnam
	Thailand
	Nepal
	Sri Lanka.
	However, an anti-dumping duty of 66.1 per cent. has been imposed on one type of low energy light bulb when the country of origin is China. The particular product is an electronic compact fluorescent discharge lamp functioning on alternating current (including electronic compact fluorescent discharge lamps functioning on both alternating and direct current) with one or more glass tubes, with all lighting elements and electronic components fixed to the lamp foot, or integrated in the lamp foot. Anti-dumping duty is an import duty imposed in addition to normal customs duty and applies across the EU.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications of a 1 per cent. change in the basic rate of income tax in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   Cost/yield  (  billion ) 
			 2007-08 3.7 
			 2008-09 4.5 
			 2009-10 4.7 
			 2010-11 4.9 
		
	
	Figures provided are on an accruals basis.
	The estimates are based on the 2004-05 survey of personal incomes projected forward against an indexed baseline which includes the reforms to simplify the income tax and National Insurance system announced at Budget 2007.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioral response to the tax change which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

David Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the removal of the 10 pence tax rate on the incomes of people aged  (a) between 60 and 65 years and  (b) 65 years and older.

Dawn Primarolo: The removal of the 10 pence tax rate was part of a package of reform announced in Budget 2007, which also included reducing the basic rate of income tax from 22p to 20p, increasing aged personal allowances, aligning the Upper Earnings Limit with (an increased) higher rate threshold and increases to the working tax credit and child tax credit.
	As a result of this package, we estimate that on average households including someone aged 60 to 64 will be over 27 a year better off in 2009-10, while households with someone aged 65 or more will be on average 72 a year better off (in 2007-08 prices).

Income Tax: Tax Thresholds

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of income tax payers who would be removed from taxation as a result of raising the income tax threshold to  (a) 7,500,  (b) 8,000,  (c) 8,500,  (d) 9,000,  (e) 9,500 and  (f) 10,000 in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will estimate the revenue implications of increasing the personal tax free allowance to  (a) 7,500,  (b) 8,000,  (c) 8,500,  (d) 9,000,  (e) 9,500 and  (f) 10,000 in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested can be found in the following tables .
	
		
			  Taxpayers removed from income tax 
			  Number: (  million ) 
			   Personal allowance 
			  7,500 8,000 8,500 9,000 9,500 10,000 
			 2007-08 2.6 3.3 4.1 4.9 5.7 6.4 
			 2008-09 2.3 2.9 3.4 3.9 4.6 5.4 
			 2009-10 2.1 2.7 3.1 3.6 4.2 5.0 
			 2010-11 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.4 3.9 4.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Cost of increasing the personal allowance 
			  ( billion) 
			   Personal Allowance 
			  7,500 8,000 8,500 9,000 9,500 10,000 
			 2007-08 13.9 17.0 20.1 23.1 26.0 28.8 
			 2008-09 12.6 15.5 18.3 21.0 24.0 26.9 
			 2009-10 11.9 14.8 17.6 20.4 23.3 26.3 
			 2010-11 11.1 14.0 17.0 19.8 22.6 25.7 
		
	
	Personal allowances for people aged 65 and over have been aligned with the ordinary personal allowance when exceeded.
	The estimates are based on the 2004-05 survey of personal incomes projected forward against an indexed baseline which includes the reforms to simplify the income tax and National Insurance system announced at Budget 2007.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioral response to the tax change which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Income Tax: Tax Thresholds

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the reduction in revenue from raising the 40 per cent. tax rate threshold for income tax to 50,000 of taxable income in a full tax year.

Dawn Primarolo: Raising the higher rate threshold to 50,000 for 2007-08 would cost 5.3 billion.
	This estimate is based on the 2004-05 survey of personal Incomes projected forward in line with Budget 2007 assumptions.
	The figure excludes any estimate of behavioural response which could be significant given the scale of the change.

Inheritance Tax

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of raising the inheritance tax threshold to 500,000 in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 18 April 2007,  Official Report, column 692W.

Inheritance Tax

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the reduction in revenue from raising the inheritance tax threshold to 1 million in a full tax year.

Dawn Primarolo: Raising the inheritance tax nil rate band to 1,000,000 from 2008-09 would incur a full year cost of around 3.1 billion.

Local Government Finance: Scotland

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice HM Revenue and Customs gave to Sir Peter Burt's Local Government Finance Review Committee on the implementation of a local income tax for the 32 local authorities in Scotland.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands) on 9 October 2006, column 285-286W.

Low Incomes

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of income of each of the four lowest earning deciles which is made up of  (a) benefits and tax credits and  (b) earnings from work.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 April 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of income of each of the four lowest earning deciles which is made up of (a) benefits and tax credits and (b) earnings from work. (132125).
	Estimates of income received by households from different sources are provided in the ONS analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'. The latest analysis for 2004/05 was published on the National Statistics website on 12th May 2006 at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. The analysis for 2005/06 will be published on 17th May. This annual publication is based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey, which is a sample survey covering approximately 7,000 households in the UK.
	The attached table shows income from work and income from benefits, as a proportion of gross income, by income decile group. The income decile groups are determined by ranking households according to their equivalised disposable income. Equivalised incomes are standardised to adjust for the different sizes and compositions of households, and equivalised disposable income (rather than just earned income, or any other definition of income) is the most widely used measure of living standards, and the commonly used basis for income distribution statistics. While this equivalisation reduces the extent to which household size in particular varies across the income distribution, there is still considerable variation in respect of other household characteristics, for example the age of the household reference person (households where the household reference person is old are more concentrated towards the bottom of the distribution).
	Income from work includes income from employment, imputed income from benefits in kind (mainly company cars), and income from self-employment. Cash benefits include things like income support, pension credit, child benefit, incapacity benefit, the state retirement pension, and tax credits.
	
		
			  Average incomes from work( 1)  and benefits( 2)  as a proportion of gross income( 3) , by household income decileUnited Kingdom, 2004-05 
			  As a percentage of gross income( 3) 
			   Decile groups of households ranked by equivalised disposable income  All households 
			   Bottom  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  Top  
			 Income from work(1) 24 33 46 56 68 72 79 84 89 89 76 
			 Income from cash benefits(2) 65 57 42 31 21 16 10 6 3 2 14 
			 (1) Income from work includes income from employment, imputed income from benefits in kind, and income from self-employment.  (2) Income from cash benefits includes only those tax credit payments which are classified as a benefit, rather than a negative tax. See background notes.  (3) Gross income additionally includes income from occupational pensions, investment income, and other miscellaneous income.   Source:  The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2004/05, ONS.

Manufacturing Industries

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal incentives exist to stimulate the supply of land suitable for start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector.

John Healey: The Government have announced a package of reforms and proposals to stimulate land supply, including a wide range of complementary fiscal measures.
	As announced in Budget 2007, from 11 April this year the business premises renovation allowance (BPRA) will provide 100 per cent. capital allowances for the renovation of commercial properties in the assisted areas that have stood empty for more than one year.
	Budget also published a consultation on the reform of land remediation relief (LRR), with a view to extending the scope of this 150 per cent. capital allowance for the cost of cleaning brownfield land to a wider range of contaminated and derelict sites. The aim of these reforms is to support new development by improving economic viability of bringing contaminated and long-term derelict sites back into use. These measures are targeted at stimulating land supply for manufacturers and other businesses in low demand and hard to remediate areas respectively.
	Following representations from the Federation of Small Businesses and recommendations from both Kate Barker and Sir Michael Lyons the Government also propose to reform the reliefs to empty property rates. This measure will increase incentives to reuse, redevelop or sell unused land and property, with significant benefits to companies that are expanding or entering the market in the form of reduced rents or prices.
	Allied to these reforms the Government have announced their intention to review the tax treatment of penalty payments made by tenants who need to prematurely terminate a lease contract. This is an important issue for all business tenants but in particular for small and medium sized companies where flexible property use is important for growth but has to date been faced with weak incentives from the tax system.

Minimum Wage

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people newly entitled to working tax credits as a consequence of the announcements made in the 2007 Budget earn the national minimum wage.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on which to base such an estimate are not available.

Personal Income

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what change there has been as a result of tax and benefit changes in average levels of income for  (a) lone parents in work,  (b) single earner couples with children and  (c) two earner couples with children since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: As a result of changes to the tax and benefit system between 1997-98 and April 2009, lone parents in work are, on average 2,650 a year better off, with net income of 22,600, single earner couples with children are, on average 1,925 a year better off, with net income of 34,150, and two earner couples with children are 770 a year better off, with net income of 42,200.
	These results are in 2007-08 prices, using the Expenditure and Food Survey.

Personal Income

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net effect of tax and benefit changes since 1997 on  (a) a lone parent,  (b) married couples with a single wage earner in work and  (c) two wage earner couples both in work with (i) one child and (ii) two children.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 19 April 2007
	The table illustrates the net effect of tax and benefit changes introduced since 1997, including changes announced in Budget 2007, on  (a) a lone parent,  (b) a single earner married couple and  (c) a dual earner married couple.
	Examples are given for each household with (i) one child and (ii) two children.
	Example uses estimate of full-time male and female median earnings In 2007-08 (for the dual earner couple, these earnings are shared equally). All estimates are in 2007-08 prices.
	
		
			  Impact of changes to the tax and benefit system on net income before housing costs. 1997-98 to 2009-10. in 2007-08 prices ( per year) 
			   Lone parent  Single earner couple  Dual earner couple 
			 1 child 740 740 635 
			 2 children 1,600 1,600 1,500 
			  Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

Population

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the UK population was in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the number of people who emigrated from the UK in each year.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 23 April 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question concerning what the UK population was in each of the last three years and what estimate has been made of the number of people who emigrated from the UK in each year. I am replying in her absence. (132807)
	The latest available population estimates for the UK are the mid-2005 population estimates. The mid-2003, 2004 and 2005 estimates are shown below in Table 1. The latest available Total International Migration estimates for outflows are the mid-2005 estimates. The mid- 2003, 2004 and 2005 estimates are shown below in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Total UK population; mid-2003 to mid-2005 
			   Total population 
			 Mid-2003 59,554,000 
			 Mid-2004 59,834,000 
			 Mid-2005 60,209,000 
			  Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000.  Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total international migration estimates of out-flows (migrants  leaving the UK) by mid-year: 2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   Migration estimates 
			 2002-03 358,000 
			 2003-04 361,000 
			 2004-05 352,000 
			  Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Taxation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of  (a) pensioners and  (b) taxpayers submitting tax returns have only an income tax liability; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Individuals who submit income tax self assessment returns may have a liability to income tax and/or capital gains tax or no tax liability at all. Estimates for the 2004-05 tax year (the latest full year available) are provided in the following table
	
		
			   Number of returns (million)  Returns with an income tax liability only (million)  Proportion of cases with an income tax liability only (percentage) 
			 All individuals 8.1 6.6 81 
			 Pensioners 1.36 1.1 83

Taxation

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the assumptions outlined in Chapter 4 of Long Term Public Finance Report 2006, what estimates he has made for the lifetime  (a) tax revenues paid by,  (b) income and  (c) consumption of Government services, broken down by type, of (i) a representative man and (ii) a representative woman born in (A) 2000, (B) 1990, (C) 1980, (D) 1970, (E) 1960, (F) 1950, (G) 1940, (H) 1930, (I) 1920 and (J) 1910.

Dawn Primarolo: The spending and revenue projections given in the Long-term Public Finance Report are purely forward looking. The report does not include the type of historical analysis of lifetime tax revenues, income or consumption of Government services that would be required to make the estimations outlined in the question.

Taxation

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the percentage change in the volume of taxation was in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Historic tax receipts data are published monthly in table C1 of the Public Finances Databank, the latest version of which can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pubsec_finance/psf_statistics.cfm
	The series which most closely reflects the volume of taxation is 'Net taxes and National Insurance Contributions'.

Taxation: Biofuels

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the tax subsidies which are paid to encourage the growing of bio-fuels; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Fiscal support for the uptake of biofuels is provided within fuel duty and duty differentials have been in place for biodiesel since 2002 and bioethanol since 2005. Budget 2007 announced the extension of the 20 pence per litre duty incentive until 2009-10, offering further certainty to the industry.
	To encourage the development of biofuels the Government are introducing from 2008 a renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO), which will require transport fuel suppliers to ensure a set percentage of their sales are from a renewable source.
	Duty differentials and the RTFO are stimulating investment in processing capacity. While this does not necessarily mean that feedstocks will be sourced from within the UK, it will provide additional local demand for UK agricultural production. The UK is aiming to move away from direct subsidies for agricultural production, as set out in the 2005 DEFRA-HMT publication A Vision for the Common Agricultural Policy.

Taxation: Charities

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the tax benefits given to an organisation would be affected if it were recognised as a charity by  (a) the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, but not the Charity Commission and  (b) the Charity Commission, but not the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Dawn Primarolo: A UK charity will be entitled to tax reliefs if it qualifies for charitable status under the law of England and Wales. In the majority of cases this test will be satisfied by a charity recognised in either England and Wales or Scotland. If a different approach to a charity's status were to be taken by either regulator then the point of reference for tax purposes (and tax purposes only) would be the provisions made in the Charities Act 2006 and established case law. These provisions, at sections 80(4) and 80(6), make it clear that taxation is a reserved matter and that for tax purposes the definition of a charity in England and Wales will apply across the UK.

Taxation: Electoral Register

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 284W, on taxation: electoral register, whether  (a) tax self-assessment forms,  (b) form DOM1 and  (c) other tax forms ask claimants whether they are resident electors in the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs does not ask for information on whether individuals are registered to vote in the UK on  (a) tax self-assessment forms,  (b) form DOM1 or  (c) other tax forms.

Taxation: Environment Protection

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the revenue derived from environmental taxation was used to fund government initiatives on climate change in each year since 2001.

John Healey: The revenue from environmental taxes is not hypothecated to spending on climate change. However, as the following table shows, central and local government spending on environmental protection, including measures to adapt to and mitigate climate change, has exceeded the revenue derived from environmental taxes in each and every year since 2001.
	
		
			   million 
			  Financial year  Environmental tax revenues( 1)  Total spending on environmental protection( 2) 
			 2001-02 1,057 5,395 
			 2002-03 1,617 5,916 
			 2003-04 1,778 6,119 
			 2004-05 1,770 6,877 
			 2005-06 1,803 8,548 
			 (1) Includes landfill tax, climate change levy etc.  Source: HM Revenue and Customs Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2006. HM Treasury

Taxation: Foreigners

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of permanent foreign residents in the UK who do not pay UK taxes;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the loss of revenue caused by the non-payment of UK taxes by permanent foreign residents in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of Russian citizens living permanently in the UK who do not pay UK taxes.

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of permanent foreign residents in the UK who do not pay UK taxes.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Taxation: Overseas Residence

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have non-domiciliary tax status; how many people have  (a) claimed and  (b) been refused such status in the last 10 years; what the total amount of tax paid by non-domiciled taxpayers was in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made of the tax forgone in 2006-07 as a result of the granting of non-domiciliary tax status.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 22 March 2007
	No overall figure for the number of individuals with non-domiciliary tax status, the number of people claiming non-domiciliary tax status or the number of people refused such status is available.
	And no estimates have been made of the tax foregone in 2006-07 as a result of granting non-domicile tax status. Information is not held on overseas income and gains that do not give rise to a tax liability in the UK.

Teenage Pregnancy

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births there were to mothers aged  (a) 19,  (b) 18,  (c) 17,  (d) 16,  (e) 15,  (f) 14 and  (g) 13 years old in (i) each Northern Ireland health board, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) England in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 April 2007:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many births there were to mothers aged (a) 19, (b) 18, (c) 17, (d) 16, (e) 15, (f) 14 and (g) 13 years old in (i) each Northern Ireland health board, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) England in each of the last 10 years. (132150)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2005. The attached table provides the figures requested for the years 1996 to 2005.
	
		
			  Live births to mothers aged 13 to 19( 1)  in Northern Ireland Health Boards, Wales, Scotland and England( 2,3) ,  1996 to 2005( 4) 
			Northern Ireland Health and Social Service Board
			   Mother's age  Eastern  Northern  Southern  Western  Total  Wales  Scotland  England 
			 1996 13 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 30 
			  14 9 3 0 1 13 27 23 232 
			  15 15 13 4 8 40 113 134 1,218 
			  16 81 35 24 20 160 342 494 4,152 
			  17 137 83 45 60 325 691 1,001 8,690 
			  18 195 77 74 79 425 886 1,343 11,885 
			  19 253 134 97 134 618 1,196 1,546 15,188 
			  13 to 19 690 346 244 302 1,582 3,256 4,544 41,395 
			   
			 1997 13 0 0 0 0 0  2 26 
			  14 2 1 0 0 3 18 23 239 
			  15 21 6 2 7 36 106 153 1,207 
			  16 80 32 16 23 151 359 505 4,140 
			  17 142 103 43 59 347 700 1,101 9,091 
			  18 242 112 76 83 513 1,025 1,390 12,995 
			  19 242 121 96 135 594 1,144 1,661 15,301 
			  13 to 19 729 375 233 307 1,644 3,352 4,835 42,999 
			   
			 1998 13 0 1 0 0 1 2 5 37 
			  14 3 1 2 2 8 13 22 232 
			  15 16 16 5 10 47 98 110 1,156 
			  16 60 39 18 29 146 356 496 3,916 
			  17 145 70 54 66 335 733 1,112 9,229 
			  18 254 126 107 104 591 1,079 1,423 13,491 
			  19 264 135 100 108 607 1,229 1,634 16,694 
			  13 to 19 742 388 286 319 1,735 3,510 4,802 44,755 
			   
			 1999 13 1 0 0 0 1 2 1 33 
			  14 3 1 2 0 6 18 18 210 
			  15 28 10 9 9 56 79 123 1,125 
			  16 69 29 18 34 150 311 420 3,791 
			  17 143 86 52 68 349 764 1,050 8,683 
			  18 235 136 85 109 565 991 1,501 13,572 
			  19 275 146 104 139 664 1,305 1,642 17,472 
			  13 to 19 754 408 270 359 1,791 3,470 4,755 44,886 
			   
			 2000 13 0 1 0 0 1 3 2 34 
			  14 3 4 0 3 10 22 19 223 
			  15 19 10 9 9 47 79 115 1,107 
			  16 91 30 16 27 164 284 370 3,539 
			  17 137 73 46 54 310 671 954 8,232 
			  18 215 85 87 95 482 1,036 1,382 12,685 
			  19 257 141 91 111 600 1,209 1,757 16,696 
			  13 to 19 722 344 249 299 1,614 3,304 4,599 42,516 
			   
			 2001 13 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 36 
			  14 2 1 0 0 3 14 16 227 
			  15 24 5 2 6 37 77 115 1,061 
			  16 61 24 26 18 129 263 410 3,436 
			  17 127 67 51 34 279 630 868 7,956 
			  18 209 104 84 94 491 993 1,339 12,162 
			  19 229 149 91 115 584 1,189 1,695 16,116 
			  13 to 19 652 350 255 267 1,524 3,167 4,444 40,994 
			   
			 2002 13 1 0 0 1 2 6 2 40 
			  14 1 1 0 1 3 13 17 201 
			  15 14 10 2 5 31 77 91 999 
			  16 54 22 16 21 113 254 358 3,349 
			  17 136 60 43 63 302 591 915 7,989 
			  18 200 119 76 95 490 904 1,247 12,081 
			  19 235 135 85 106 561 1,117 1,565 15,823 
			  13 to 19 641 347 222 292 1,502 2,962 4,195 40,482 
			   
			 2003 13 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 24 
			  14 2 0 0 2 4 10 13 176 
			  15 9 9 7 4 29 56 89 969 
			  16 62 22 20 17 121 230 350 3,390 
			  17 125 46 44 52 267 582 906 8,096 
			  18 238 99 62 72 471 969 1,285 12,470 
			  19 251 138 99 103 591 1,095 1,509 16,150 
			  13 to 19 687 314 232 250 1,483 2,944 4,155 41,275 
			   
			 2004 13 0 1 2 0 3 1 1 23 
			  14 1 0 0 0 1 5 12 178 
			  15 21 7 4 3 35 61 83 951 
			  16 52 40 22 19 133 241 344 3,392 
			  17 122 63 37 50 272 612 853 8,211 
			  18 221 97 75 75 468 954 1,290 12,734 
			  19 256 136 87 95 574 1,239 1,589 16,483 
			  13 to 19 673 344 227 242 1,486 3,113 4,172 41,972 
			   
			 2005 13 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 14 
			  14 3 2 0 0 5 16 16 173 
			  15 17 7 1 4 29 70 86 907 
			  16 51 29 14 16 110 249 322 3,264 
			  17 134 54 52 45 285 609 853 8,074 
			  18 202 86 65 60 413 922 1,280 12,457 
			  19 254 121 80 97 552 1,232 1,612 16,826 
			  13 to 19 661 299 213 222 1,395 3,099 4,171 41,715 
			 (1) Age refers to age at the time of the birth.  (2) Data for Northern Ireland exclude births to mothers not usually resident in Northern Ireland at the time of birth. Similarly, data for England and Wales exclude births to mothers not usually resident in England and Wales. Data for Scotland include births to mothers not usually resident in Scotland. For this reason the number of births shown here will not exactly sum to total UK births at ages 13 to 19.  (3) Births registered in Northern Ireland have been allocated to Health and Social Services Boards according to the usual residence of the mother. Births registered in England and Wales are assigned to England or Wales according to usual residence of the mother.  (4) For Northern Ireland and Scotland, figures relate to the number of live births registered in each calendar year. For England and .Wales, figures relate to the number of live births occurring in each calendar year.   Source:  Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency: Office for National Statistics; General Register Office for Scotland.

VAT: Sunscreens

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent consideration he has given to the removal of VAT from sun care products; and what estimate he has made of the long term effects of such a measure on NHS costs.

Dawn Primarolo: Under the VAT agreements with our European partners, signed by successive Governments, we can retain our existing VAT zero rates, but we may not extend them or introduce new ones. It is therefore not possible to remove VAT entirely from sun care products. The same European VAT agreements do allow for a reduced rate of VAT of not less than 5 per cent to be applied to sun care items that are 'pharmaceutical products', and the case for such a VAT reduction for sun care products was. carefully considered as part of the Budget process.
	To date we have been sparing in our use of reduced rates of VAT and have only introduced them where we are convinced they offer the best targeted and most cost-effective support for our objectives, when considered against alternative policy instruments. We consider that the most effective approach is the promotion of the broad range of precautions necessary for sun protection, not just sun care products, for example through Government support for the 'Sunsmart' advice and awareness raising campaign.

Welfare Tax Credits

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason able-bodied people under the age of 25 years without children are not able to claim any tax credits regardless of their income levels.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 16 April to my hon. Friend the Member for Dundee West (Mr. McGovern),  Official Report, column. 422W.

Welfare Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the  (a) 2005-06 child and working tax credits finalised annual awards statistics and the  (b) 2005-06 child and working tax credits finalised annual awards, supplement on payments statistics.

Dawn Primarolo: The HMRC publications referred to will be published on 22 May 2007.

Working Tax Credit

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what increases in take-up of working tax credit he expects in each of the next three years.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 18 April 2007
	The Government do not make forward projections for take-up rates.

Working Tax Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are receiving working tax credit who do not have any children.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 18 April 2007
	Provisional estimates for the number of in-work families with working tax credit awards that do not have any children, as at December 2006, are published in Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. December 2006. This is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm

Working Tax Credit

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change his policy on the eligibility for working tax credits of those aged under 25 years who are without children and not disabled.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government currently have no plans to change the eligibility criteria for working tax credits.

Working Tax Credit: Prisoners

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people serving custodial sentences in the UK received working tax credits in each of the last three years; and what the cost was of such payments.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1741W.